COVID-19

Those of us in Washington State who were hoping that 2021 would bring some respite from the massive disruption to our daily lives will have to wait.

This article was originally published at Geopolitical Futures. The original is here.

One of the main reasons that the coronavirus pandemic is so difficult to stop is because of the high prevalence of asymptomatic carriers. These are people who are infected with the virus and show no symptoms, yet can spread the virus to others.

Over the past several days, the world has received monumentally good news: Vaccines exist against the coronavirus, and they are effective. Even better, vaccines are being developed by multiple companies.

When the COVID pandemic first emerged, Dr. Anthony Fauci said that he hoped people would permanently stop shaking hands.

Although the clinical trials are not complete and there are still many questions to be answered, it is difficult not to be optimistic about Pfizer’s new COVID-19 vaccine.

The source of today's information comes from a series of interviews with various members of what constitutes our Strategic National Stockpile (SNS), an amalgamation of many government agencies.

Thanks to Herculean efforts by pharmaceutical companies all over the globe, the biomedical research community is now on the verge of producing the world's first successful coronavirus vaccine.

The good news shot around the planet within minutes: American pharmaceutical behemoth Pfizer, in collaboration with the German firm BioNTech, have produced a vaccine that is 90% effective at preventing coronavirus infection.

Point: Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials shows it does work when given early.  Dr. Nigel Bark, Chairman American Council on Science and Health