AS we head towards the next phase of the Movement Control Order (MCO), the issue of striking a balance between public health safety and economic survival becomes more acute. As long as a vaccine is not available, the possibility of a prolonged MCO looms large in the government's decision-making.
On April 23, scientists at Oxford University (collaboration between the Jenner Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine and the Oxford Vaccine Group) started on its human trials.
The goal is to produce at least a million doses by September.
Not to be left out, Cambridge University has also been working on a vaccine. Professor Jonathan Heeney, Head, of the Laboratory of Viral Zoonotics at the University of Cambridge, is one of the lead persons in the project researching on an antibody.
Our very own Dr Nur Amalina Che Bakri announced on her Twitter account on April 22 that she has been invited to participate in clinical trials for a Covid-19 vaccine at the National Institute of Health Research, Imperial College's Clinical Research Facility.
It was reported that the Health director-general has announced that we will explore collaborations with selected countries in the hope that vaccine development as well as clinical trials could be based here.
There are 150 vaccine development projects round the world. Nonetheless, as we are still at this stage and not out of the woods yet, the policy dilemma of balancing public health safety against economic concerns — with the former outweighing the latter — remains the bias in the matrix of configuring the decision-making process.
Pending the outcome on the public health front vis-à-vis a vaccine, the Covid-19 pandemic has severely impacted on the global economy. Thus, the introduction of a vaccine and medication into the equation will be a game changer to cushion the severe impact on the economy caused by the lockdown, which is brought about by the pandemic.
Without a vaccine or medication to fight the virus, things will not return to the normalcy that we have been used to since the only way this can be achieved is to ensure that not only is the lethal and unseen virus defeated, but also that it will never make a comeback.
When experts talk about a new normal in the future economic and social landscape that we would see after the Covid-19 pandemic, they are talking about the possibility that the virus would make a comeback after its initial defeat, if social distancing measures and observing regular personal hygiene, along with shaking hands or embrace others are thrown into the drain soon after the initial defeat. That's why one Harvard expert proposed that an on-and-off social distancing measure be applied after winning the first battle against the virus.
But really, the only way to defeat the virus for good is through a vaccine or medication, which has a very long way to go.
As such, countries must make the adjustment now to a new normal in the economic and social landscapes that will take shape post-Covid-19.
This means that whether we like it or not, the question of coming to terms with a new normal is no longer a question of whether it will happen or not, but rather how soon will it happen.
The writers are part of the research team at EMIR Research, an independent think tank focused on strategic policy recommendations based on rigorous research
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times