A clear 'wake-up call' from Korea

Kim, Tae-Il

Based on this phenomenon, the World Health Organization does has not taken this situation seriously enough to announce travel bans or other global measures. This may be an explanation for why MERS remedies are still not ready from pharmaceutical companies, though there is no excuse for not having a vaccine by now. A few minor biotech companies are currently performing preclinical laboratory studies, while major drug companies are just keeping an eye on the situation. However, in order to minimize any potential risks, we need a vaccine for MERS as soon as possible, recalling the assertion from Professor Adrian Hill in the Jenner Institute at Oxford University. One of the main obstacles for MERS vaccine development is the economics of such a drug for pharmaceutical firms, which is partially related to why no governments have yet pledged to invest in a major research effort. At this moment, responsible nations and enterprising firms ought to cooperate together for timely vaccine development so as not to let the opportunity pass them by. Until then, healthcare professionals should maintain situational awareness of the need to detect MERS patients, despite a lack of sufficient information on the modes of transmission and clinical presentation of MERS.