Japanese Expert: "Rushing COVID-19 Vaccine Development Led to Inadequate Side Effect Checks"

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Je-won] A Japanese immunology expert recently expressed concern about the current trend of rushing to develop a novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) vaccine. The concern is that in the haste to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, side effects may not be properly examined.

Masayuki Miyasaka, former president of the Japanese Society for Immunology and invited professor at the Immunology Frontier Research Center at Osaka University, said in an interview with the Tokyo Shimbun published on the 8th, "If clinical trials are not conducted carefully domestically, the effectiveness cannot be confirmed, and shortening the period may lead to missing serious side effects."

Regarding the announcements by advanced pharmaceutical companies that have created gene vaccines using biotechnology and reported "antibodies were produced after vaccination," he noted the potential but emphasized the need for caution.

Professor Miyasaka said, "Gene vaccine technology is likely to be effective," but also stressed, "We do not even know whether the amount of antibodies produced is sufficient. In some cases, even if antibodies are produced against COVID-19, they may not be helpful."

He explained that "antibody-dependent enhancement" (ADE) could occur, where harmful antibodies that worsen symptoms upon infection bind to the virus and infect a type of systemic immune cell.

This phenomenon was confirmed in animal experiments with SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), which is similar to COVID-19, and Professor Miyasaka emphasized that this is "the reason why coronaviruses are frightening," according to the Tokyo Shimbun.

He argued that "safety and preventive effects cannot be known until about one year after large-scale vaccination," and that it is necessary to take time to confirm safety.

He added, "If vaccination is done without properly following procedures, it becomes a human experiment," and predicted, "It will take about two years to develop an effective vaccine."