The H5N1 virus is said to have overcome the species barrier. In addition to its original host, birds and poultry, the virus has now also affected mammals, including cattle. As a result, the virus has spread worldwide. In the meantime, people have also fallen ill with bird flu, ranging from mild to severe cases. Scientists called for urgent measures in a publication in the journal Science to be able to react in the event of a pandemic.
In their article from last Thursday, the authors appealed that gaps in pandemic preparedness should be closed. The most pressing measures include the timely development of suitable vaccines. For this, the conditions should be created in industry and government to enable the large-scale production of pandemic influenza vaccines. This time, the vaccinations should also be financed for people in developing countries. According to the journal, it was said:
“First, the industry, governments, regulatory authorities and the scientific community should be involved in the development of scalable vaccines against a bird flu pandemic (based on models like Operation Warp Speed) – with a fair vaccine access ensured through a financed global framework.”
Additionally, measures should be developed with scientific help to respond to vaccine refusers. To do this, a behavioral research program will be launched. With its help, one wants to “better understand vaccine concerns” in order to then also better research how to convince vaccine refusers. The authors wrote word for word:
“Second, an extensive, supported by the behavioral sciences, information and communication program should contribute to a better understanding of the concerns against vaccinations and to react to them and restore trust in public health.”
The type of measures that psychologists and behavioral researchers will experiment with to approach the vaccine refusers is not described in the current Science article. In an article in the German Medical Journal from Friday, the planned pandemic preparedness was welcomed. This would spare society and the economy:
“Now to strengthen the preparations, can save lives and reduce the negative consequences for society and the economy.”
However, the German Medical Journal also reported on the conflict of interests of the Science authors’ group: According to this, the main author Jesse L. Goodman is, on the one hand, the director of the Center on Medical Product Access, Safety and Stewardship at Georgetown University. On the other hand, he is also a member of the board and the scientific advisory board of the pharmaceutical company GSK. Co-authors work for a pharmaceutical consulting firm and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).