The virus mutates quickly, and the medical community is concerned that the first-generation vaccine will be ineffective within a year.

Vaccination is the key to stopping the outbreak, but the medical community is concerned that with the virus mutating rapidly and vaccination rates low in many countries, the first-generation vaccine could be ineffective in a year or less, requiring an improved vaccine formulation.

“According to a poll of 77 scientists from 28 countries conducted by the People’s Alliance for Vaccines, two-thirds of respondents were very concerned that a year or less might be left, and nearly one-third believed that only nine months or less might be left.

Eighty-eight percent of the medical experts surveyed believe that the persistent failure to improve vaccine coverage in many countries is more likely to lead to the emergence of mutated viruses that are resistant to the vaccine.

On the other hand, Canadian officials announced on Monday that they are suspending vaccinations for people under 55 years of age, and the German state of Berlin announced today that it is suspending again the AstraZeneca vaccine for people under 60 years of age, given the risk of blood clots in the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford (Oxford Vaccine).