A glass half full? 

Summary:

Interim trial results of a vaccine against COVID-19 are reasons for cautious optimism – but even assuming a safe and effective vaccine is rolled out, maximising take-up among healthcare workers could be a challenge. 

 

Occupational Health [at Work] celebrates its 100th issue, but is it time to crack open the bubbly? 

SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, was first identified in December 2019. We’ve had a year of fear and sorrow, a stretched health service, millions of workers on furlough and a huge dent in the economy. There have been more than 55 million cases and 1.3 million deaths globally. Then, on 9 November 2020, the US pharmaceutical firm Pfizer and German biotechnology company BioNTech announced preliminary results from phase-3 clinical trials of BNT162b2, an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, showing 90% efficacy (the trial involved 43,538 participants and 94 confirmed cases)¹….

 

Dr John Ballard, editor 

 

Author: Ballard J

Tags COVID-19 pandemic vaccine

Occupational Health at Work December/January 2020/2021 (vol. 17/4) pp03

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