Cautious optimism the key with Covid-19 vaccine breakthrough: The Yorkshire Post says

The virus, which was not known to be in existence this time last year, has been involved in more than one million deaths across the world and has caused huge economic devastation.

As England embarks on the early stages of its second national lockdown, this news appears to offer some light at the end of the tunnel that everyone has been desperate for – something reflected in the markets as tens of billions was added to the value of shares on the FTSE 100 following the announcement.

But there are of course, some very important caveats – the study is still ongoing and safety and efficacy data continues to be collected, meaning the vaunted 90 per cent figure could well change. There are also question marks over how long immunity would last.

Equally, the news has been delivered by a Pfizer press release rather than a peer-reviewed medical journal and any global rollout will come with considerable logistical challenges and take many months to carry out. However, to date no serious safety concerns have been observed and the reported efficacy rate of the vaccine would put it on a par with highly effective childhood vaccines for diseases like measles.

There are no guarantees at all but as one of 11 potential vaccines in late-stage trials, there are growing signs that the coronavirus pandemic that has caused so much misery in so many different ways across the world can be overcome. As Boris Johnson memorably put it in a Downing Street press conference tonight, the sound of the “bugle of the scientific cavalry coming over the brow of the hill... is louder but still some way off”.

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