Coronavirus vaccine research began in 2003, says St Kitts and Nevis CMO

St Kitts and Nevis: Chief Medical Officer of St Kitts and Nevis tried to allay concerns about the time frame of developing the COVID-19 vaccines, which caused some hesitation among individuals.

On March 31, 2021, Dr Laws explained that efforts to develop a vaccine began many years ago in 2003, during the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) briefing.

"If you remember, we had the SARS outbreak in Eastern countries in 2003, and in 2012 we experienced the MERS outbreak. Now the SARS and the MERS were caused by coronaviruses, which is why the scientists at the time started working with the coronaviruses in an attempt to develop a suitable vaccine against these family viruses," said CMO.

She said the SARS CoV-2 virus, then known as the new coronavirus, had been isolated, decoded and the genetic information shared with scientists in January 2020 in an effort to develop a suitable vaccine.

The development of highly sophisticated technology, which did not exist decades ago, has also improved the development and production of vaccines.

Dr Cameron Wilkinson, Medical Chief of Staff of Joseph N. France General Hospital, also said that the global outbreak has sparked greater investment in finding a vaccine.

"There are several first world countries that are putting millions or billions of dollars in front of the drug companies so that they can help with the development of these vaccines," he said.

Individuals also emerged willing to participate in clinical trials for the vaccine, given the devastating impact of COVID-19 on populations in the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom, and other countries.

"These vaccines have been tested more than any other vaccine in the past among thousands of people," said Dr Wilkinson indicated. "For all the reasons, we know the vaccine is safe, and that's one of the reasons I did not hesitate to roll up my sleeves and take the vaccine."