The coronavirus vaccine has set our expectations high, but what if you don’t have one?

Comment of the week World Health Organization We May Never Have “Silver Bullets” The coronavirus was hard to hear.

But many experts needed this wake-up call, so we can begin to imagine our future without a vaccine.

“It had to happen. It burst the bubble, “Hey, it’s fine because it won’t change in the next few years,” says Bruce Thompson, director of health sciences at Swinburne University.

Even if we have a vaccine today, Professor Thompson says it will take 18 months to become available at your local GP.

Still, I don’t know how much it protects us. In particular, this group is more vulnerable to COVID-19, such as the elderly and people with chronic health conditions.

Second, there is always the issue of people who do not have access to the vaccine or who choose not to be vaccinated.

“We have to plan the worst scenario, it’s very easy. It will coexist with COVID-19 for a very long time,” said Linda Selvey, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Queensland.

He doesn’t have to have a vaccine to get over COVID-19, he says, and the evidence is how Australia’s elimination of HIV more or less (through safe sexual activity and prophylaxis).

So what do we need to focus on to move forward without a vaccine?

Test method

Experts agree that a quick test is what we need to do better.

Currently, there is only one way to find out who has COVID-19. Deep nose and oropharyngeal collection at a test clinic. This is not enough in the long run and we can expect technology to catch up.

The home-based COVID-19 test is also an option, according to RMIT senior microbiologist Taghrid Istivan.

“It’s like a pregnancy test. If you feel unwell, visit a pharmacy and buy a test to do at home. This is possible because there are different kinds of technology to develop this kind of test. “

For example, a US pharmaceutical company has developed a test kit that returns a result (a finger stick) from a drop of blood within 10 minutes, with an accuracy of 98%.

The Australian Drug Administration (TGA) is currently implementing a rapid approval process for rapid testing in the home, and the Doherty Institute will inform you of its optimal use.

The federal government has also invested millions of dollars in development A simple pathological test with results in less than 30 minutes.

Breath test is another promising option Tasmanian researchers Working with manufacturers of bomb detection tools.

15 years ago, Professor Michael Breadmore of the University of Tasmania was asked to quickly detect explosives and reduce the 30-minute process to 30 seconds to make Australia and the world safer. It was possible with GrayScan.”

“We use what we learned about doing chemistry very quickly and apply it to virus detection.”

Professor Thompson, this seems to change.

How to track

The COVIDSafe app didn’t work as expected, but a comprehensive improvement could be a ticket to more freedom, says Selby.

“The more I resume my normal life, the harder it is to keep track of contacts, so I need to prioritize this.”

The ability to achieve the goals of COVIDSafe has been questioned after being revealed This software only works effectively for less than about a quarter of a locked iPhone.

But the team at Swinburne University is developing a way to predict where the virus is going so that people can be alerted in real time.

“Beat COVID-19 now” app It relies on answering daily symptom questions even if the user has no symptoms.

“Knowing where the symptoms of COVID-19 are can help improve community and health care planning and prepare people before they are tested and diagnosed,” said Professor Osborne, research leader. Told.

The research team for this app is currently in discussions with the federal government.

Professor Thompson agrees that technology needs to change, but so does our attitude.

“Tricky is that people have to trust the government to use the information.”

“People are concerned about privacy, but we need to do this in order to interact more.”

How we work

Experts say that employers expect their employees, and the environments they provide to do their jobs need an overhaul.

This should have already happened, says Thompson.

“Employers are now aware that people have made bad decisions that force them to work — now they have robbed one third of their business.”

While it may be a long way for some companies, hiring more staff can encourage them to stay home when ill.

“Recovery funds should actually be invested in the workplace not only to make it safer by improving ventilation, but also to increase the number of staff.

The industrial redesign where staff couldn’t work from home was something health experts had been talking for months, especially in slaughterhouses and elderly care.

“I did what WHO was trying to do [in the ‘no silver bullet’ statement] It stimulated conversations and discussions between government and the community. Because even if we redesign our workplace, that’s not something we can do in a week or two,” says Selby.

How we recover

If we can’t cure it, hopefully we can cure it.

The treatment has two main goals. Paul Griffin, Director of Infectious Diseases at Mater Health Services, says it’s about making people better or reducing viral burdens.

For treatment of symptoms, dexamethasone trials have shown promising results, and for antiviral therapy, rendecivir has shown some potential, but not enough, Dr. Griffin said.

“Very effective antivirals can be a huge step forward as they can also be used as a kind of preventative medicine. [preventative treatment] To help outbreaks. We don’t yet know what the drug is, but much research is being done. “

Dr. Griffin is the lead investigator in two vaccine studies (US biotechnology company Novavax and University of Queensland), and a third study is planned for the near future. He is also investigating treatments as part of co-treatment across Australia.

Dr. Istivan is part of the study of COVID-19 therapy, but notes that progress depends on support.

“Science can come up with solutions, but all of these require money. There are cures on the horizon, but without funding and cooperation, they can’t move forward,” she says. It was

“In the end, scientific and medical research must be supported by funding and more collaboration between European, US, and Chinese scientists.”

But what about vaccine development?

Dr. Griffin is still “very confident,” he says, although I think there is at least one vaccine that will be very effective in the near future, it’s unwise to put all the eggs in one basket.

He is also very worried about already strong anti-Baxer sentiment even before the vaccine exists.

Currently, there are six vaccines in the third phase of the trial, including those conducted by the Murdoch Children’s Institute in Australia.

Stage 3 answers the most important questions — does this vaccine protect people from the coronavirus?

“So that’s the data we need to look at before we get hooked on which vaccine works.”