Pre-distribution prognosis
It’s been a tough year for humanity, but, with two COVID-19 vaccines rolling out, 2021 might look much better different. That'll all depend on how the rollouts go, but with few vaccines launching and even more being tested there is finally a cause to be optimistic about this year.
In less than a year, Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna conducted clinical testing, submitted their programs to the FDA and won emergency authorizations. The U.K. approved the Pfizer shot Dec. 2, and limited vaccinations started the following week. European regulators just this week signed off on the Pfizer shot.
But winning an FDA authorization isn't the finish line. It'll be a monumental challenge for to distribute the vaccines and administer shots to hundreds of millions of people as COVID-19
continues to spread apace.
Current vaccination situation
Cumulative COVID-19 vaccination doses administered per 100 people, Jan 18, 2021
As of January 14, just over 318,000 doses had been administered in France, according to Oxford University's Our World in Data tracker, compared with more than 840,000 in Germany. The government's initial plan was to vaccinate older people living in care homes and older care staff in January and February.
Israel has already vaccinated for about 23% of countries population.
Poland also bought about 158,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine earlier this month. Officials promised that it will be immediately redistributed in the first week after arrival.
Here is a very visual graph that tells a story about what countries have already started to develop a herd immunity by vaccinating their citizen.
Alternative to expensive and limited western vaccines
It all goes by the plan. But when will vaccine be widely available for everyone?
Estimates say that an ordinary young person of age 20-40 years old may be able to get a vaccine for himself for as soon as 2022 or even early 2023. It all depends on how rich your country is in the end. US, EU, GB, Canada, Israel and Australia may vaccinate all population by the end of 2021. While countries like Brazil, India, Turkey, Egypt, Thailand, China, Ukraine and Russia may struggle to compete on the market to buy vaccine up until 2023.
What are the alternatives for not so rich countries?
On December 14, the Gamaleya National Center and RDIF announced the results of the third and final control point analysis of data obtained 21 days after administering the first dose to volunteers. The vaccine was confirmed to be highly effective, at a rate of above 90%, at each of the three control points of the clinical trials (20, 39 and 78 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection among volunteers both in the placebo group and in the group that received the vaccine).
Argentina was the first country in Latin America to officially register Sputnik V. Supplies of the vaccine to Argentina will be facilitated by international partners of RDIF in India, China, South Korea and other countries.
P. S.
Take in account the fact that if you google about “Sputnik V” effectiveness you will only see russian pages, many of which come directly from “Sputnik Vaccine” website. :)
Questions:
1. Is your country doing well on vaccinating its population?
2. Would you take a shot of Sputnik V? Why?
3. How do you like the fact that Covid-19 will remain a part of our future?
Sources:
https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations
Comments
2. To be honest, I don't know. I believe there's a lot of factors to consider and think about. I have previously read articles about different vaccines and how they were developed and tested. But to be honest, I probably wouldn't rush to be the first one to get a shot and would rather wait a little bit more and we'll see what happens in the future.
3. Of course I don't like it. I mean, studying/working from home is nice and stuff but I would love to go to the movies again, or meet my friends for a coffee IN a coffee shop and not outside of it. Would love to be able to travel to see my family when I want to and not when the borders are open. Basically, I would love to get back to normal(even so what is actually normal?) and have more control over everything in my life😅
I’m a citizen of Ukraine, but I have a Polish permanent residence card and tax code, so I can be vaccinated on the same rights as a Polish citizen with Pfizer. I’m already applied for vaccination, now I should just wait for my turn. At the same time, the Ukraine government has no plan for vaccinating. They can’t buy the Russian vaccine because of political conflicts, and Pfizer is too expensive. Maybe the European Union would help, but in their business to vaccinate their people first, so it’s unknown how long Ukraine will wait for such help.
2. Would you take a shot of Sputnik V? Why?
No, in no case. First, fortunately, I have an opportunity to be vaccinated with Pfizer. Second, I don’t believe in “Sputnik V”. As I know, the Russian government usually likes to demonstrate the priority of their country treating everything as racing. For example, they used dopping massively at the Olimpic Games in 2014 just to be seen as first. Later this fact was revealed, so now they are banned from attending in Olimpic Games. Same with the vaccine, they wanted to be first, but no one is sure about the safety of that vaccine and the tests not fabricated.
3. How do you like the fact that Covid-19 will remain a part of our future?
I’m happy with such a fact. I just want to return to university, because I miss that atmosphere so much.
P.S. I would better battle Covid myself rather than vaccinate with Sputnik V as well xD
No, I will not. The government also said that it will vaccinate high-risk communities on a priority basis. This will include staff from the hospitals and frontline. The priority categories would also include individuals above the age of 50 and people with co-morbidities. And it's fair enough I guess.
Covid-19 is a test like no other. Never before have the lives of so many people around the world been affected at this scale or speed.
Honestly? I don’t know. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that anything that was developed in Russia is bad, but as you said, it seems that the information about the Sputnik V is strictly controlled by it’s makers and probably the Russian government. But then again, our government isn’t that crystal-clear either. But there is much more valid information available for the Western vaccines than for the Sputnik, so probably no, unless I didn’t have a choice.
Mixed emotions again. On one hand, I’m living within this nightmare for a year now and I’m somehow still alive and I don’t think I went any crazier than I was before; but on the other hand, God, I just want out, you know? I like sitting at home in my pajamas, but it’s starting to get boring and annoying at the same time. I can’t go visit my parents, I left my dog at their place, I miss them all, I miss going outside without a need of wearing a mask. I miss going to concerts, movies, I really miss people, hanging out, going for a drink or pizza or whatever. I sincerely hope this will get better soon and we will gain at least a part of our former freedom back.
Well... I don’t think so honestly. First of all now only the people in “the danger zone” are getting vaccined. They are mainly people suffering from various diseases, or elder ones. I don’t think it’s bad, but I believe that the whole vaccination system is working bad, like almost everything in my country. ;) First of all it’s very hard to register for vaccination. My grandparents heard that “it’s impossible for now, because they don’t have enough vaccines”. Secondly there were many scams on this topic, for example some bigwigs getting vaccined without a queue, even though it’s illegal. Many people are scared of getting vaccined, and despite many articles, published composition of the vaccines it’s hard to believe for them that they’re harmless. There wasn’t enough time to test them properly, and it’s hard for many to believe what they see on the internet, or hear on tv. The whole process is ridiculously long and there are many opponents. I simply think it’s not effective when it’s working like that. While we are waiting for our turn, more and more people are getting sick and spreading the virus. I don’t believe it’s possible to stop that quickly.
2. Would you take a shot of Sputnik V? Why?
I don’t think I would. It’s not like I’m a “anti vaccer” or anything, but I wouldn’t inject into my body something that is not understandable for me. If I can’t find any understandable, useful information about it, there must be something hidden. Correct me if I’m wrong, but it doesn’t look right when the only distributed informations about it are controlled by its creators. I honestly have mixed feeling and I don’t know what to say more. It’s a little shady. :P
3. How do you like the fact that Covid-19 will remain a part of our future?
Honestly I don’t think much about that. We can’t do anything about it and I truly believe that sooner or later we will find a better solution for that than now. I only hope that the restrictions would eventually vanish and life would be normal again. It’s not only about social life, going to restaurants or cinemas... Many people are suffering from the economic crisis created by all of those restrictions. Government is not helpful, I mean some people would get help, some not. Many was forced to quit their businesses or bankrupt. I only wish that all of this is temporary, and even though COVID-19 will stay with us for a while, it won’t be as cruel as it is now.
2. I don't trust Russia and I wouldn't accept the vaccine they made. However, I would vaccinate myself with the pfizer vaccine offered in Poland.
3. The flu is also part of our lives. If the majority of the population gets vaccinated and we learn to effectively treat the coronavirus, I don't see any major problems.
In my opinion, Poland is doing poorly in vaccinating people. Many people do not believe the vaccine is effective, hence the problems. Additionally, the number of vaccines is limited due to the government's ineffectiveness. However, compared to Europe, vaccination results in Poland look quite good. Israel should be a model, where 150k people are vaccinated every day - space for me, I do not know how they do it, but it should be a model.
2.Would you take a shot of Sputnik V? Why?
Yes, well why not, you only live once. Of course, I was joking, but of course, if it turns out that the Russian vaccine is effective, it is worth getting vaccinated. It is even surprising that this vaccine production has been so limited - only a few companies make it. In my opinion, the vaccine recipe should be made public, so that anyone who can produce it just starts creating it.
3.How do you like the fact that Covid-19 will remain a part of our future?
I was sick with Covid-19, it was not very pleasant, although I am a young man, practicing sports, I had some symptoms. It really is a strange feeling to lose your sense of smell and taste. Then it seems to me that all life is meaningless. Honestly, I would like to get vaccinated and be aware that for some time (several years) Covid-19 will not be a threat to me.
2. I am not really willing to take Sputnik V. It has not been completely tested yet (it was developed later than Pfizer's or Moderna's vaccine) and I heard that the complications after taking it are stronger - in fact, people may act similarly as they would be infected with a normal virus. This does not make sense to me, since I am young and not really in danger, so taking Sputnik V might be useless. I will wait for Pfizer's or Moderna's if it possible.
3. There is nothing to like, but if I were to choose any positives from that, I hope that some people will understand how the illnesses work and they will think about improving their immune system.
2. American corporations have been conducting research on mRNA class vaccines for a very long time and have achieved great success in this area. I cannot imagine getting vaccinated with a Russian vaccine, which probably represents the highest level of Russian propaganda and has not been properly tested, let alone developed.
3. This is not the only new disease that humanity will have to deal with. Looking back at the past, it seems to me that there will be new diseases that we will have to learn to live with. Although, for example, the Spanish flu which was a highly lethal disease simply disappeared. It's hard to predict where the COVID-19 situation will turn out, but we have to be ready for the worst possible scenarios.
In my opinion they are not doing good enough. Firstly there were a lot of problems with technical organizations on the government site where people can log in and decide where and when They want to take a shot of vaccine. Moreover the definition of people who are in which group are still pending. We are hearing on the news that, there are groups of people who are added to the first ones who are going to be vaccinated. On the other hand the positive one is that we don't have a problem with giving second dose, because our government safe half of them for people which occurred first dose.
2. Would you take a shot of Sputnik V? Why?
I have no heard about Sputnik before, or maybe just the name of the vaccine. If I have a chance to choose I would not want to try it. In my opinion there are few more tested vaccines like Pfizer which could be potentially better for our health. I am not aware that much and I would like to be vaccinated as fast as possible, but I would wait for more popular vaccine around the world.
3. How do you like the fact that Covid-19 will remain a part of our future?
I don't like it at all. I think the one positive of that is that people realize that we can work from homes and it gains popularity last months. I find it really good idea, but I would love to be back to these days before COVID-19.
Poland already both vaccines and gave us the opportunity to sign in. But medical workers and elder people have priority so I guess we will have to wait approximately 1 year to take our turn. I do not think Poland is doing well during pandemia but mostly it is because our goverment.
2. Would you take a shot of Sputnik V? Why?
Sure of course I already signed myself and my family to take turn for a vaccine. I am not a person who does not believe in vaccine. there a re a lot of theories but I consider them as very stupid.
3. How do you like the fact that Covid-19 will remain a part of our future?
There are some pluses and minuses but overall not really. Lots of my yearly events got canceled and I was waiting for them for so long. The pandemia closed us inside houses and make us unable to strengthen our social relationships.
2. I'm not positive about the Sputnik V. It works in a different method than the mRNA vaccine. But if there won't be any other choice then I would probably take a shot.
3. I don't like this fact at all. For me, the only advantage is the ability to work from home. Many businesses simply died or are struggling with surviving.
To be honest I don't think that Poland is doing well with that vaccines. There is a big disorganisation, a lot of informations about vaccination system are unclear for most of the people and our government is trying to push themself in line for vaccination by for example putting public prosecutors in the group 1.
2. Would you take a shot of Sputnik V? Why?
I am the opposite of being "anti-vaxer", because I trust in science, but it's really strange that there are not so much information about Sputnik V vaccine. In scientific web search engines there are very little information and quotations about it compared to pfizer and moderna vaccines. Because of that I don't really trust it so I don't think I would take a shot of Sputnik V.
3. How do you like the fact that Covid-19 will remain a part of our future?
In some aspects I like it (for example I think there will be more home-office work in the future or the aspect that covid-19 exposed which jobs are really essential) but in others not really (eg. I don't like to stay so long in my home, I'd like to see other people more, especially my friends and I don't like that big events may be restricted because of the pandemic, at least for some time).
I don't think so. In my opinion our population is divided. Obviously it is all because of our government and their last ideas. Some people keep trusting them no matter what but if you will think about it - then you can have some fears. Situation in every place in the world is weird because of coronavirus. Anyway only in Poland we have new and new problems. I have in my mind abortion law, sugar tax, ideas for illegal curfew or some other weird speech. I completely understand that not everyone believes in "facts" about vaccinating.
2. Would you take a shot of Sputnik V? Why?
I heard about this vaccine from Russia. To be honest I don't know too much about it and what can be negative effects of that but the name of this is a little bit scary.
3. How do you like the fact that Covid-19 will remain a part of our future?
Covid-19 is just another virus causing the disease. I just hope that the current situation will end as soon as possible and we will be able to come back to normality. I am sure after some time there will be a good and safe vaccine or medication for that.
Unfortunately not. Many vacciness are being wasted becuase our goverment didn't create proper, working system and facilities to handle vaccines supply. On the other hand the supply is not that big and therefore not many people can get a covid 19 vaccine. For example clinics in my district can only vaccine 30 people per week which is crazy considering the amount of poeple that live here. So generally Poland is not doing well on vaccinating its population.
2. Would you take a shot of Sputnik V? Why?
I don't know to be honest. If it would be approved by World Health Organization or some other big organization that is health care authority I would so. I am not a medical expert so I don't really know what can help me prevent getting infected with Covid19.
3. How do you like the fact that Covid-19 will remain a part of our future?
I think it is not appropriate question. Why someone would like it. There are so many downsites of Covid that it would be stupid to "be happy" because of it.
2. Opinions on vaccinations are very divided, I personally have no plans to get vaccinated. I do not trust these vaccinations and prefer to wait for the first effects before deciding on it myself.
3. I think Covid-19 will be with us forever and I don't think the more restrictions will be lifted now. I think wearing masks will remain a tradition in our country. In my opinion, it does not interfere with normal functioning and I do not see a problem with it that it will be with us forever. In my opinion, this is one of the elements of human evolution.
Not at all, if I am not mistaken only elders and people at risk are vaccinated at the moment speaking. Except of course people who had been vaccinated without a queue. In my opinion people at my age will be probably vaccinated 2 years from now at best which seems ridiculous in my opinion. But I do not know current statistics very well that is why it is hard for me to judge how well vaccinating is going.
2. Would you take a shot of Sputnik V? Why?
No to be honest I would not. I would be to concerned of side effects on which we know nothing about.
3. How do you like the fact that Covid-19 will remain a part of our future?
This question is an obvious one to me, I do not like this fact and I doubt that anyone like it beside those that made plenty of money on this pandemic. I would prefer for this whole pandemic not to happen.
I don't trust any product from regime country like China or Russia. They told that it will works but we can't have 100% confirm. Maybe Suptnik is one of the things for Putin to show world that they are better than other world. They want to proof that they can make vaccine but I don't trust them that it is working. But maybe I'm wrong and Suptink is good as Pfizer vaccine.
I think this is good lesson especially for younger people to show that even we live in peaceful times, in every moment everything will change. One year ago nobody things that every place will be closed and we need wear mask to go outside. Covid 19 shows us that we need to develop our healthcare because we can go to the Moon but we can't fight with virus from Earth. Of course in maybe 5 years we will don't have a lot of Covid cases but still we need to remember about this case of dangerous.
No, I do not even own a TV. I can manage without cable TV, I usually use Netflix if I want to watch something or maybe other services like Youtube or Twitch. Tv seems expensive to me comparing to streaming services. Also I prefer playing video games on my PC rather than watching some series. What I also hate in TV is the amount of advertisement.
2. Can you imagine world without television?
I could easily imagine world without tv, because I can replace it with websites such as:. Netflix, HBO GO or others.
Also I would rather play video games than watching TV.
3. What is your opinion on this subject. Do you think that TV is likely to disappear soon or just will be different?
Probably it won’t disappear because a lot of money is involved in this. And also TV is one of the ways to manipulate society so the politicians and people with money could influence weaker minds of our society.
Take a shot of Sputnik V, huh? No, I do not believe so. This is a matter of life and death in certain situations and I would not trust an untested vaccine. Was it really untested or there are heavy politics involved? Not sure. It's either about politics or about honest caution. If there were no signs of competing vaccinces, the situation could've been a little different. But, given the exact situation we're currently in, I would not take a Sputnik V shot.
How do I like the fact that Covid-19 will remain a part of our future? Well, that depends on the exact definition of the word "future" used here. Are we talking about the nearest future where things will still be tough, where people will face restrictions and the health situation won't be clear at all? I do not like that, but I belive it will end and it will get better. Are we, on the other hand, talking about the distant future? I am concerned that COVID will turn into a seasonal illness and we will likely never get rid of it, but it will be way easier to deal with compared to what we can do right now. Overall I am pretty optimistic, however we should not underestimate the potential, long term consequences.
2. No, at this point, I prefer to wait for the pfizer vaccine, especially since it is possible. On the other hand, if I had not been able to get vaccinated, and Sputnik would actually have been well tested and there would be no side effects, I would have considered it
3. I think that there is no point in judging whether it is good or bad, we just have to accept it and learn from epidemic so that in the future similar situation will not paralyze the whole world again
I don’t think so. Number of people getting vaccinated weekly is too low in my opinion. There was already a controversy involving celebrities who were vaccinated before medical staff and elderly people because they knew rector of one of the Polish medical universities. Also, the whole process is really bad organized and people have a hard time trying to register for the vaccination.
2. Would you take a shot of Sputnik V? Why?
No, I wouldn’t. First of all I don’t believe Russian government. Secondly, there are better vaccines available for EU citizens.
3. How do you like the fact that Covid-19 will remain a part of our future?
I hate it. There are some pros of this situation, like remote work becoming the default way of working in the IT, but cons like people dying, problems with lockdown, mental health problems etc. are really bad.
About a week ago the Polish government has opened registration for vaccination for people over 70 years old and healthcare workers, and also an additional registration for everyone else, so that they will be first in line when vaccination for their age group will start. Even before the whole process started, many stories hit the news about celebrities getting vaccinated without any special reason. Honestly, I don't mind that they were vaccinated before people that would need the vaccine more since the distribution of it was so poorly done. Many of vaccine doses were already disposed of because the system of registration for vaccination has not been working properly. And this is only the tip of the iceberg. For the vaccine to work you have to take two doses, it seems that people who were already vaccinated won't be able to take the second dose in the recommended time. In short, Poland is not doing so good.
2. Would you take a shot of Sputnik V? Why?
This is a very controversial topic for some reason. It seems that because we live in an age of information, where you can get unlimited access to reliable sources, more and more people try to use it against individuals who don't have enough time for critical thinking and tend to believe everything they read. Since the coronavirus outbreak, the internet became flooded with myths and fake news regarding this topic, making communities vulnerable to the consequences of actions based on believing in them. With endless conspiracy theories, people have stopped believing scientists and doctors and started to question scientific evidence in the name of information that they have seen online. The problem of fake news and its effect will haunt our society for as long as the humankind remains, but the governments should take more action into preventing the spread of fake news. Going back to your question, I think that if the Sputnik vaccine would be certified by a recognisable medical institution, I wouldn't hesitate to take the shot.
3. How do you like the fact that Covid-19 will remain a part of our future?
As many would have guessed, I'm definitely not excited about that. I'm already drained after being locked in my home for almost a year now, and I can't imagine spending another few years living like that. It is extremely hard to motivate yourself to do anything or even finding a purpose in getting up from the bed. I would like to think that after we get vaccinated the world would immediately go back to the way it was before with its ups and downs, but unfortunately, the reality seems to be grimmer.
Could be better. They're saying that it all depends on manufacturers and they're doing their best. For now, 700 thousands of people already have been vaccinated, but in Poland there is around 40 million people.
2. Would you take a shot of Sputnik V? Why?
Well, if it works, why not? I guess there will have to be more record of it's effectivness, but if it will be working then I wouldn;t hesitate
3. How do you like the fact that Covid-19 will remain a part of our future?
Well, of course not. I hope that it won't be although, or that we manage to control it in near future.