‘2019-nCoV vaccine could take years, not weeks’

As China struggles to contain the novel coronavirus outbreak, developing a vaccine against the disease is considered still months, if not years, away.

In ordinary conversations, people are asking questions like, “Why don’t they simply develop a vaccine?” or “How can we keep ourselves safe if the virus spreads so easily from one human to the next?”

When asked about this, Commonwealth Health Care Corp. spokesperson Zoe Travis underscored the difficulty of developing a vaccine for the newly known virus, which first appeared in Wuhan, China, saying, “A vaccine for the novel coronavirus could take months or years, not weeks or days.”

Developing a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, or any vaccine for that matter, takes several steps. Travis said there are many stages that come into play before the vaccine is made, such as being able to get it to a dosage that would be safe for everyone, depending on the overall outcome of what the virus could turn out to be.

“We’re still learning how infectious it could be getting it from someone and what the variations of symptoms are. Everything is still unknown because it’s still so new,” said Travis.

Despite that, the corporation is prepared to help treat someone who is infected by the virus, she said, adding that the Commonwealth Health Center, which CHCC runs, has several isolation rooms called negative pressure isolation rooms to keep patients in, where nothing can get in or out, that they have prepared staff working with the Saipan airport to identify passengers and have already established protocols to get them to the hospital and then isolate them.

“So far, all we know is that the coronavirus causes respiratory illness such as a fever, cough, and difficulty breathing,” said Travis.

If you have any symptom, even if you know that it’s not coronavirus and not sure what it is, it is still advised that you wear a face mask and not neglect other important things you can do, such as washing your hands for at least 20 seconds or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, avoiding touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands, avoiding close contact with people who are sick, staying home when you are sick, covering your cough/sneeze with a tissue and properly disposing of it, and cleaning and disinfecting touched objects and surfaces frequently.