Forbes: Start Vaccinating Now!

[brooklynite]

Development of new Covid-19 vaccines is proceeding at a furious pace, which is good news for the world. We already have two vaccines in phase 3 trials in the US and Europe; each of these trials which will vaccinate many thousands of people, and then wait to see how many get infected. If the vaccines work, then in a few months’ time we’ll be able to start large-scale production.


But we don’t have to wait. Both of these vaccines (from Moderna and Oxford University/Astra Zeneca) have already been shown, in phase 1 trials, to be safe and probably effective. That’s why the companies are moving ahead and giving each vaccine to 30,000 more people: they know the vaccines are safe. The NY Times reports that 3 other Covid-19 vaccines are also in phase 3 trials: one from BioNTech and Pfizer, and two from Chinese companies, Sinopharm and Sinova Biotech.

So why not start administering millions of doses right now? We should.

In fact, an Indian vaccine manufacturer is already moving ahead with large-scale production. The Serum Institute, run by Indian billionaire Adar Poonawalla, is manufacturing hundreds of millions of doses of the Oxford vaccine, before it gets final approval, investing its own money and taking a chance that the vaccine will work.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevensalzberg/2020/08/02/start-vaccinating-now/amp/

My friend Laurie disagrees...

Link to tweet

[Sherman A1]

1. Seems just a tad

Irresponsible to me.

[SpaceNeedle]

2. They are not proven safe

The Phase I trials for "safety" only determine safety for additional trials. Not for the general population.

Phase I trials are conducted in a small sample of between 10 and 50 people only.

Forbes is full of it.

[hlthe2b]

4. Exactly.

[hlthe2b]

3. Laurie Garrett is right. This article is as obscenely irresponsible as one can imagine.

Forbes seems to have turned to the (poor Americans/elderly Americans/Americans in general) are dispensable POV.

[Midnight Writer]

5. Forbes is a capitalist tool.

[soothsayer]

6. "Hurry! There's more money to be made by re-electing our crook!"

Despicable.

[Vinca]

7. Gee, great idea. Let's all take an experimental drug and see what happens.

[captain queeg]

8. Trump will be touting this idea before the week is over.

Anyone want to make a bet?

[Baclava]

9. I coulda swore that said "start vacationing now", maybe its too early and i was squinting

[genxlib]

10. There are really two separate concepts described here

1) Start giving the vaccine to multitudes

2) Start mass producing the vaccine so that it will be ready for distribution when deemed safe

Number 1 is crazy

But I am in favor of number 2. With the economic drag in place, the investment in a "maybe' vaccine production run is peanuts compared to what we have to gain by being ready for mass distribution.

If we wait for the all-clear, there will just be another awful wait while we get the vaccine out to all corners of the world. With it already stockpiled, we could have wide distribution in weeks after it is determined to be safe. If it has to be destroyed, it will be disappointing but worth the investment.

I realize that it being determined to be "safe" in itself is going to be a shortcut from what it typically takes. And I know that there will be a crap load of politics and capitalism pushing for it to happen. That is a very complicated question and all I can do is give you my thoughts. I will consider it safe when multiple Countries under differing political systems approve it. The CDC/FDA only would make me wary but if the EU, England, Australia and others say it is good, then my confidence goes up exponentially.

[genxlib]

11. I would add

That giving an untested vaccine to everyone sounds like the plot of a dystopian novel. A story where the entire world suffers from some unintended consequence because we jumped out of the frying pan into the fire.

[crickets]

14. "I will consider it safe when multiple Countries under differing political systems approve it."

👆 This. Not even interested until then. I hope Forbes gets dragged so hard for this level of irresponsibility.

[bullwinkle428]

12. "Get out there, black and brown people, and start making us money again!!"

[exboyfil]

13. Start with the Fortune 500 and their families