Scientists and researchers are racing to satisfy the world’s yearning for a COVID-19 vaccine. Typically, it takes years to accomplish such significant medical advances, but the hunt for this vaccine has been expedited the world over. Dozens of vaccines are in various stages of trial or investigation.
As the death toll continues to climb, there was understandable disappointment when pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson announced recently it had halted its ongoing late-stage trials. The interruption stemmed from a participant’s unexplained illness.
While a vaccine can’t come quick enough, this kind of caution should inspire reassurance that science and medicine are not sacrificing rigor in their quest for a weapon against the deadly virus.
Some worry that the fervent attention being paid to the ongoing COVID-19 trials and any interruptions in their progress could cast the shade of doubt on any vaccine, once one comes.
But, information is power. And information about the process, especially when the process and progress are bumpy, should spark public confidence that, ultimately, good science will prevail.
That’s why ultimate transparency in the trial process is critically important.
AstraZeneca has encountered problems in its late-stage vaccine trials and, like Johnson & Johnson, has disclosed the interruptions. Both pharmaceuticals should go further to describe and explain the troubles, even though this is a departure from conventional protocol. These are not normal times. Even the director of the National Institutes of Health, Francis Collins, has acknowledged that companies should be more forthcoming about potential adverse events so public trust in the future outcomes of these extraordinary efforts is not threatened.
The most effective vaccine would be rendered useless unless the community is willing to roll up its collective sleeve and take a shot in the arm.
—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
