Sarah Gilbert, a leading Professor of Vaccinology at the University of Oxford, discusses the rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines and their potential in restoring normalcy. Richard Horton, Editor of The Lancet, critiques the UK government's response while addressing the ethical dilemmas of vaccination prioritization. Tim Spector, founder of the Zoe COVID Symptom Study app, highlights the importance of understanding long COVID and the implications of vaccine efficacy against variants. Together, they explore the challenges and possibilities of navigating our path out of the pandemic.
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Early COVID-19 Reports
Richard Horton first learned about COVID-19 from news reports in early January 2020.
The Lancet published five papers on COVID-19 in the last week of January, including clinical characteristics, transmission, genetic sequence, and pandemic risk.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Early Vaccine Development
Sarah Gilbert noticed the first notifications about a "SARS-like pneumonia" in early January 2020.
She started working on the vaccine development before the virus sequence was released, anticipating potential human-to-human transmission.
insights INSIGHT
Vaccine Rollout Challenges
The vaccine rollout will be a massive task, prioritizing vulnerable groups.
Mass vaccinations will reveal a clearer timeline for broader distribution.
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Spoonfed: My Life with the Spoons is a memoir by Gord Deppe, detailing his experiences as the lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist of the iconic Canadian band The Spoons. The book offers insights into the band's extensive touring history, including performances with notable acts like Talking Heads and The Police. It provides a compelling look at Deppe's life and career within the music industry.
The Diet Myth
The Real Science Behind What We Eat
Tim Spector
In this book, Tim Spector challenges the conventional wisdom on diets by highlighting the importance of gut microbiota in determining health and weight. He draws on his own research and the latest scientific studies to debunk common diet myths, such as the effects of saturated fats, trans fats, and dietary cholesterol. Spector argues that the key to health lies in maintaining a diverse gut microbiome through a varied diet rich in whole foods, rather than following restrictive diet trends. He also shares personal experiments and insights from his research, including the impact of different foods on gut bacteria and overall health[1][3][4].
The COVID-19 Catastrophe
What's Gone Wrong and How to Stop It Happening Again
Richard Horton
In this book, Richard Horton scrutinizes the global response to COVID-19, highlighting failures in preparedness and governance. He emphasizes the need for robust health systems, global collaboration, and addressing societal inequalities to prevent future pandemics. The book provides a comprehensive overview of the pandemic's impact and lessons learned.
The world had been waiting for the news and on November 9 it finally came: a vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech had proved to be more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 in clinical trials. And then just a week later another pharmaceutical company, Moderna, announced the results of its own clinical trials. Moderna’s vaccine showed a remarkable 95% efficacy in preventing Covid-19. With further promising results from the Oxford/AstraZenica vaccine showing between 70 – 90% protection, many policymakers now believe we are on track for a mass rollout of multiple vaccines in 2021 and a chance of normality resuming within months. But how realistic is this? And what questions still need to be answered?
Many experts are warning that, while the news about vaccines is an encouraging episode in the pandemic story, it is by no means the end of it. We have many ethical and logistical challenges ahead of us in the coming months. The chief scientist behind the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, Uğur Şahin, has said we are unlikely to see any signs of the pandemic receding before the summer of 2021. In the meantime, a lot of questions remain unanswered: Should we continue with lockdowns until the summer or beyond? Who should be vaccinated first? The elderly so we can save lives and reduce the burden on healthcare providers? Or – as some are suggesting – the young, so we can kickstart the economy? And more broadly, is it fair that pharmaceutical companies should make vast profits from a vaccine?
To answer these questions, Sarah Gilbert, Project Leader for the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, Richard Horton, editor of The Lancet, and Tim Spector, epidemiologist and founder of the ZOE Covid symptom tracking app, joined us in December 2020. The event was hosted by Anjana Ahuja, leading science contributor for the Financial Times.
Intelligence Squared 
