​The title of this article may indicate that the topic of taking the vaccine for COVID-19 is a debate, but let me put one thing as clear as I can – you should absolutely 100% take the vaccine whether you are offered Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna Therapeutics, or any of the promising candidates on the horizon from companies like Regeneron. 

​

So why am I writing this article? It’s my job to converse with people all over the world, day in and day out, and I am coming across more and more people who are unsure or simply do not wish to take the vaccine when offered to them. In turn, this made me think it was important to showcase what scientists around the world have done to get a vaccine ready in such a short time.

What is a Vaccine?

The Wikipedia definition of a vaccine is “a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease”. In other words, it’s a form of a medication that targets and helps the body’s immune system fight a disease it has not come into contact with before. 

When COVID-19 once knocked on our doorstep, there was sheer panic all over the world… remember panic buying? Every single day, people outside the Pharmaceutical industry were unsure what they faced right at the start of the pandemic. At the same time, those within the industry very quickly got together to start preparing a plan to get the world back on its feet, risking their own lives for the greater good to find a vaccine for the deadly virus.

A normal drug cycle, pre-COVID-19, took anywhere between six to seven years before it was made available to patients. To get to a point where we have developed several successful vaccines in just over 12 months is not only an incredible feat for the Pharmaceutical industry, but going forward it sets a new precedent for the development of important vaccines, and also gives people around the world hope that when people are willing to come together, anything really is possible. 

When we look at the hard, revolutionary work and time those in the industry have dedicated towards this cause, all to provide the world with an end to this pandemic, combined with the amazing effort by the NHS in rolling out the vaccine in the UK, there really is no stronger argument to accept the vaccine. Of course, it’s also important to follow advice issued by the UK government and medical bodies, including the advice that under 30’s should be offered an alternative COVID-19 vaccine to the AstraZeneca jab. It’s worth mentioning that the AstraZeneca vaccine and the blood clot is as rare as 1 in every 225,000 people, but if we are to follow new government issued advice, there are still other vaccines on offer for those in younger age groups which should certainly be accepted.

What Went into Developing a COVID-19 Vaccine?

I’m not a scientist so I am not in a position to fully understand the scientific side of developing a vaccine. However, I imagine that those early warnings from the World Health Organisation, the daily coverage of how many people were dying around the world, and understanding the depravity of how serious this pandemic was to societies around the world, rich or poor, gave scientists in this industry  a real sense of purpose. Their fight to research, work hard and keep a close eye on constant updates concerning the virus means that we now have various vaccines developed by some key players and respected names in the Pharmaceutical industry.

As a global community, let’s take the vaccine whenever we get the chance. By doing this, we can help save lives around the world and start to get back to normality (whatever that now looks like) and see our loved ones. 

​

​Mantell Associates is a specialist Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Recruitment organisation. To find out how we can help with your headhunting or recruitment needs, contact us on +44 (0)20 3854 7700.