Kamrat: Success if vaccine alleviates COVID symptoms, vaccinate against flu

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Leading German immunologist Thomas Kamrat is "delighted" by the speed of work on a coronavirus vaccine, but adds that one should not expect miracles.

In an interview with DW, Kamrat also recommends vaccination against seasonal flu.

Over 170 laboratories are participating in the race to find a vaccine against the virus. Seven of them have reached the final stage of clinical testing. Processes that normally take years are now happening at record speed. Because it's a matter of life and death, money and power.

But can we talk about any laurels at all? Is the vaccine really the solution to everything, as is often said in public debates?

"Personally, I would be satisfied if there was a safe vaccine, which would need to be refreshed every two years, but which would have a strong impact on the course of the disease," says the renowned German immunologist Thomas Kamrat.

"Perhaps the vaccine will not prevent a cold or other mild symptoms. However, the least that is expected is that it will prevent respiratory failure and severe organ damage. If the vaccine only manages to turn a fatal course of the disease into a milder form, that would be a success for me. Anything more than that would be a very big success," Kamrat says in an interview with DW.

Isn't it too fast?

Vaccine development is also a first-class political issue. Russia rushed to approve a vaccine, and US President Donald Trump believes that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is deliberately hindering vaccine development to prevent the president from appearing as a successful fighter against the pandemic before his term ends.

Thomas Kamrat, who is the director of the Institute of Immunology at the University Hospital in Jena and president of the German Society for Immunology, says he is not skeptical but "delighted" by the speed of work on the vaccine.

Otherwise, it takes about ten years for a vaccine to enter mass production, and the record so far is the Ebola vaccine, which appeared after five years of work.

"And now everything is even faster," says Kamrat, adding that work did not start from scratch because it is already known which protein elicits a good response to SARS viruses, and that Chinese scientists posted the virus sequence online back in January.

"The speed of the entire process is increased because steps that normally followed one another are now happening in parallel. For example, production facilities for vaccines that may never exist are already being built," the scientist states.

"However, it must not happen under any circumstances that safety testing becomes laxer than usual! As difficult as the situation is, symptoms are mild in 80 percent of people, if they have them at all. This means that if I get vaccinated against something like that, I must be very sure that no harm will occur! After all, we are giving the vaccine to healthy people," warns Kamrat.

"Herd immunity - Stone Age"

Commenting on individual calls for society to become infected, i.e., for the infection to spread slowly in a targeted manner to achieve herd immunity, the German immunologist says: "If you look at the infection rates that would be required and the mortality rate, then it is a method from the Stone Age."

The recent news from Hong Kong that it is possible to get infected with the coronavirus twice has made the discussion superfluous: "We now have to assume that immunity does not last a lifetime. Therefore, I hope that no one will advocate for herd immunity anymore. Herd immunity is achieved through vaccination," Kamrat is categorical.

He recommends vaccination against the flu before this autumn.

"On the one hand, for personal protection, because we do not yet know if the immune system will weaken so much due to the flu that it will become more susceptible to COVID. On the other hand, to avoid overloading the healthcare system. Flu is also associated with a certain mortality. The symptoms can be similar, so it is not immediately possible to distinguish in the hospital whether it is flu or COVID-19," explains the German immunologist.

When and if a coronavirus vaccine arrives, Kamrat hopes it will be effective in older people.

"Then, older people and those who already have health problems should receive the vaccine first. Also, those who are particularly exposed and at high risk of spreading the virus. A young, healthy person living in a forest cabin is probably the last one who should be vaccinated," concludes the immunologist in an interview with DW.