Coronavirus Vaccine Needs to be Administered in Two Doses, Potential Problems Seen

Coronavirus vaccine, once available, will need to be administered in two doses. With this, stakeholders are seeing a potential problem in bringing this about.

Vanderbilt University health policy professor, Dr. Kelly Moore, said that there is no doubt that the coronavirus vaccination program will be the most extensive and most complicated in human history.

Moore added that to pull it off, it would need a level of effort and sophistication that has never been attempted before.

According to a report on CNN, potential problems seen in pulling off the program are in the logistics and convincing people to get vaccinated.

Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, there has been difficulty in getting test kits and protective gear that point to issues in the supply chain.

With each person needing a double dose of the vaccine, this would mean that 660 million doses would be needed for 330 million Americans.

With this, stakeholders are looking at a huge issue in the supply chain.

Supply chain management professor at the Northeastern University, Nada Sanders, said that that this will be a challenging feat because they will not only be doubling the production of the vaccine alone but everything else concerning it in the supply chain.

This means doubling the syringes, the vials, the stoppers, and needles.

Considering that there was already a problem in the supply chain even before the coronavirus pandemic as marked by the shortage of a vaccine for shingles, Sanders said that she is worried about the task ahead.

As for convincing people, it will be difficult enough to convince them to get the vaccine once, what more asking them to come back for a second dose.

A poll conducted by CNN showed that 40 percent of the Americans would not have themselves vaccinated even if it will be given out for free or even if it will be easy to get.

It will also not be easy to ask people to return for the second dose, even for those who initially want to be vaccinated.

It means they would have to take time off work twice, or maybe have to wait long in lines for a second time and probably experience side effects twice.

However, on top of those problems is the question of when a vaccine will be available.

According to a report by The Guardian, the World Health Organization is tracking 170 candidate vaccines being developed around the world.

There is also the question of "is it safe," as normally, vaccines take years to be tested. However, scientists are attempting to produce a coronavirus vaccine in just less than two years' time.

In a report by BBC, a vaccine will be available most likely by the middle of 2021.

If that should happen, it will be a huge feat for the scientific experts, but considering the shortened period for its development, will it be guaranteed to work.

This, because the virus seems to be growing with four coronaviruses already afflicting humans.

This also begs the question whether the coronavirus vaccine being worked on now be used for all existing coronavirus strains.

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