Must assume that effective COVID-19 vaccine would not be available in near future: Experts

Public health experts and doctors, including those from AIIMS and ICMR's National Task Force on COVID-19 have said it must be assumed that an effective vaccine against coronavirus "would t be available in near future" and any false sense of hope that this panacea is just around corner must be avoided.

In a joint statement submitted to prime minister, experts of Indian Public Health Association (IPHA), Indian Association of Preventive and Social Medicine (IAPSM) and Indian Association of Epidemiologists (IAE) have said while being optimistic, prevention and control strategy should also prepare for worst.   "Vaccines have role in current ongoing pandemic control. However, whenever available, vaccine may play a role in providing personal protection to high-risk individuals like Healthcare workers (HCWs) and elderly with comorbidities," experts said.

"It must be assumed that an effective vaccine would t be available in near future. We must avoid false sense of hope that this panacea is just around corner," y said. Vaccines with proven efficacy and safety, as and when available, should be ministered according to WHO's "strategic allocation" approach or a multi-tiered risk-based approach.   Vaccines may oretically be a useful intervention in future, if and when me available for public health use, experts said, highlighting many countries, including Russia and China, are fast-tracking vaccine development which might have concerns of efficacy and safety.

Highlighting that ongoing pandemic is a public health problem that is fast worsening existing health inequities, and t a law and order problem, experts stressed that it should be dealt with empathy and meaningful community engment.  way forward needs to take into account contextual constraints and community interests and design optimal interventions that require technical competence blended with good judgment, clarity and trust, y said.

State and district level epidemiologists would have been an excellent resource to interpret data locally, and suggest context specific response, experts said.

"However, se posts are mostly lying vacant due to poor salary structure. re is an urgent need to declare ir posts as specialist post requiring MD degree in Community Medicine or Preventive and Social Medicine and recruit qualified persons," y said.  Experts also recommended said that state and national level serosurveillance surveys need to be undertaken to monitor pandemic and modify control strategies accordingly. In future use of alrey existing sero-surveillance platform could be a cost-effective way to do sero surveillance. All sero surveillance must be supervised by trained public health specialists (MD Community Medicine) from local medical colleges, and public health institutions, y said.

Experts also recommended that role of front-line community health workers in COVID-19 control activities needs to be ackwledged and due recognition given to se front line COVID-19 warriors.  "This will t only boost efforts of prevention and control of epidemic in field but also community at a large will realize importance of preventive measures and join hands in efforts for with government in prevention and control," y said.

20-member joint COVID Task Force includes Dr Shashi Kant, past president IAPSM, and He of Centre for Community Medicine at AIIMS, New Delhi, Dr Sanjay K Rai, national president, IPHA and Professor, CCM,  AIIMS, Dr Kapil Yav, ditional professor, CCM, AIIMS, New Delhi, Dr Sujeet Kumar Singh, Director of National Centre for Disease Control NCDC), Dr D C S Reddy, former professor and he, Community Medicine, IMS, BHU, Varanasi and Dr. Rajesh Kumar, former Professor and He, DCM &SPH, PGIMER, Chandigarh.

Dr Singh and Dr Kant are members of ICMR National Task Force on COVID-19 while Dr Reddy chairs ICMR research group on epidemiology and surveillance for COVID-19.