WHO Warns Millennials May Not Receive COVID-19 Vaccine Until 2022

Forget a COVID-19 vaccine by the presidential elections or one by January 2021; millennials might not receive one until 2022. 

Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, WHO’s chief scientist, quoted by CNBC, said the most vulnerable segments of the population, such as healthcare workers, frontline workers, and the elderly, will receive the vaccine first. This means through prioritization, millennials might have to wait until 2022. 

“Most people agree, it’s starting with healthcare workers, and frontline workers, but even there, you need to define which of them are at highest risk, and then the elderly, and so on,” Swaminathan said.

“There will be a lot of guidance coming out, but I think an average person, a healthy young person, might have to wait until 2022 to get a vaccine,” she said.

Swaminathan said there’s a possibility for at least one safe and effective vaccine by 2021, but she pointed out it would only be available in “limited quantities.” 

At the moment, ten vaccines worldwide are in late-stage clinical trials, Swaminathan said. However, several vaccines, particularly ones by AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, and Johnson & Johnson, have been paused in recent weeks to address safety concerns – adding to mounting fears that development timelines could be pushed out. 

On Wednesday, White House coronavirus advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci told CBS News, in a video conference interview, that vaccines for the general population could be ready as soon as “let’s say April of 2021.”

Trump has been saying that a COVID vaccine is coming any day.

Dr. Fauci today says “that will likely be within the first quarter of 2021, by let’s say April of 2021.” pic.twitter.com/yrr6RgeHu8

— The Recount (@therecount) October 14, 2020

Upon distribution of a proven vaccine, whenever that may be, it’s likely prioritization will be at hand, as millennials could be the last to receive the treatment. Then again, at least two-thirds of Americans have said they will skip on getting the vaccine when it first becomes available.