Vaccines 101. Vaccines Are Coming - But Continue Your Protective Vigilance

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As the world goes through a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, a light on the horizon continues to get closer each day – as vaccines are developed, tested, and readied for distribution. Just this week the CDC announced its suggested vaccine priorities, which would begin with the vaccinating of healthcare workers and nursing home employees and residents. It would likely then move on to other essential workers, those over 65, and those with medical conditions that put them at risk.

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With that, a vaccine is unlikely to be available for the food industry until likely February or March (at the earliest) – so we must continue to be vigilant and continue requiring all precautions (masks, distancing, handwashing, isolating, quarantining, testing, and modifications to air handling systems, etc.) on the job and encouraging workers to do so in their daily lives.

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Even as we wait for the vaccine, many people continue to have questions on the various SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, their current status, and vaccines in general. To answer these questions, TAG has developed a paper, VACCINES: HOW AND WHY THEY WORK [pdf] providing a discussion on the vaccines and the protections they provide, the steps of development, and the types and status of the various COVID-19 vaccines.

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Ideally, a perfect vaccine will prevent an individual from getting COVID-19 without any harmful side effects (e.g., think of childhood vaccines that protect against Rubella, Measles/Mumps, etc.). The purpose of a vaccine is not only to protect an individual; but, once many others are also vaccinated, it will create a “herd immunity” that protects those individuals who are unable to be vaccinated due to health reasons, age, etc.

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Check out the paper and follow TAG’s ongoing discussion of COVID-19 news and business recommendation updates at www.achesongroup.com/covid-19.