Vaccines in support of globalisation: the current status of coronavirus and future implementation challenges

Abstract

The key aspects to be discussed by this panelist are the role of vaccines in the support of globalization and the life style of global village, and the current status of coronavirus vaccines and future challenges of implementation.The present pandemic made obvious to the general public the central role of vaccines in the support of modern lifestyle. It also revealed the possibility (or near certainty) of totally new pandemics, for which the world had ample warnings, with AIDS, Ebola, Zika, Lassa, Hendra, SARS, MERS, and many other emerging viruses threatening the world order. We entered a new era of pandemics as the last areas of the planet become members of the global village and due to climate change. Therefore, the world will go through a period of new threats that become more intense due several factors. These include the climate change, the dense co-habitation of large number of humans and their food, the rapid, cheap and universal travel, and the public health rules and traditions. Vaccines and immunotherapies are among the best and most cost-effective ways to address new and established epidemic threats.Work on a safe and effective coronavirus vaccines progresses with unprecedented speed and substantial resources. Vaccines may be available in a year, and this time could be shortened if emergency approval of a safe but not fully tested vaccine is allowed. Production ability is expected to address the challenge of high demand, but the worrisome signals are that, even under the conditions of a spreading epidemic, a sector of the population is not convinced about the remedies, whether they are public health measures, or preventive vaccines. Addressing the reasons for the denial of scientific method and conclusions is a major priority for everybody involved in the fight of this and other epidemics. Scientific progress and implementation of the results is the only way forward.