The rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine

Global Business

FILE PHOTO: Vials with a sticker reading, “COVID-19 / Coronavirus vaccine / Injection only” and a medical syringe are seen in front of a displayed Moderna logo in this illustration taken October 31, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvi/File Photo

Amid the global pandemic, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Vaccines for COVID-19 are now available. They were developed in record time – one of the greatest success stories of modern science. But administering the vaccines on a mass scale has proved challenging for many countries including the United States

People around the world are now getting jabs of the new coronavirus vaccines. Two of them – one – made by Pfizer and BioNTech and another made by Moderna are unlike any other vaccine.

Instead of using weakened or inactivated components of the virus to activate the body’s immune response, these new vaccines use Messenger RNA or “mRNA”.

Consumers may have negative impressions about big pharma companies because of the high cost and harmful side-effects of drugs. Will the COVID-19 pandemic help the pharmaceutical industry regain its reputation?

After being slammed by the pandemic, the tourism industry is itching to get back up and running.

For many industry leaders, proof of vaccination or “vaccine passports” are seen as a way to get back on track. But there are concerns about privacy and access.

The COVID-19 vaccine provides hope that the world can soon return to a sense of normalcy, but that can only happen if a large majority of the world’s population gets vaccinated.

While the science shows COVID-19 vaccines are safe for most, many remain skeptical. CGTN’s Karina Huber reports.