Few relish a jab in the arm with a needle. If the syringe prevented Covid-19, then many might think it a pain worth suffering — but by no means all. Tens of thousands of anti-lockdown protesters gathered in Berlin over the weekend, some to voice their discontent at the possibility of being coerced by the state into getting vaccinated. The situation is far from unique to Germany. In Italy, where the broader anti-vaccination movement enjoys widespread support, both main anti-establishment parties campaigned last year against compulsory routine vaccinations for children. In the US, a fifth of people say they would never submit to inoculation against coronavirus; another third remain unsure. A recent online survey of UK residents showed a quarter would decline a vaccine if the government made it “available tomorrow”.
Only Russia has committed to launch a mass inoculation programme before the end of 2020 — in October — regardless of whether a vaccine candidate has been properly tested. Globally 165 vaccines are in testing, according to the World Health Organization, though securing approval from medical authorities in the US and Europe for any of them will take many months. Anthony Fauci, top adviser in the White House’s coronavirus task force, is nevertheless “cautiously optimistic” that a vaccine will be available by the turn of the year.
Rapid progress is not in itself a cause for concern; indeed, it ought to be cheered in light of the economic and social costs of the pandemic. There are, however, examples where governments have prioritised speed over efficacy in the treatment of disease. They include a mass swine flu vaccination in 1976 that led to a rare neurological condition, Guillain-Barré syndrome, in some recipients — though the swine flu strain proved less lethal than first thought. Two attempts to cure polio, in the 1930s and 1950s, produced pernicious side effects. While many “anti-vaxxers” rely more on conspiracy than fact, some have legitimate concerns based on past mis-steps. The temptation to cut corners this time around must be resisted.