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  • The Atlantic

    Paging Dr. Hamblin: What If the Vaccine Works Only Half the Time?

    A coronavirus vaccine doesn’t need to be perfect to still be valuable.
    by James Hamblin Sep 23, 2020 4 minutes
    Source: Julian Montague

    Editor’s Note: Every Wednesday, James Hamblin takes questions from readers about health-related curiosities, concerns, and obsessions. Have one? Email him at paging.dr.hamblin@theatlantic.com.

    Dear Dr. Hamblin,

    I heard an immunologist on the radio today say that a coronavirus vaccine could be only 50 percent effective, in which case we’d still have to “live” with the virus even after it arrives. With all the talk of the vaccine being the way out, this is terrifying. What if the vaccine isn’t totally effective? Will the virus really be with us forever?

    Sydney Levitt

    Toronto, Canada

    No vaccine is perfectly effective. That isn’t bad news; it’s just a basic fact. No medicine is perfectly effective, no

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