Oxford scientist says if coronavirus vaccine is effective it will likely be seasonal

(Image credit: Screenshot/CNN)

last updated 3 May 2020

Sir John Bell, an immunologist and the Regius Chair of Medicine at the University of Oxford, said we'll probably know pretty soon whether Oxford's highly anticipated coronavirus vaccine works.

Bell told NBC's Chuck Todd on Sunday's edition of Meet the Press that researchers will likely "get a signal by June" about the vaccine's efficacy. The Oxford vaccine has made waves because of the rapid and unprecedented pace of its development and the possibility that it could hit the market in a limited capacity during the fall.

If it does prove successful — and Bell's tempered opinion is that "prospects are pretty good" — it likely won't be a one-time vaccine. Bell said as far as anyone can tell the coronavirus doesn't mutate quite as easily as the flu, whose vaccine needs to updated every year to keep up with the changes, but there's a lot that still needs to be learned about potential immunity to the new virus, so chances are seasonal vaccination will be the norm. Tim O'Donnell

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.

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