In the wake of controversies surrounding the rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines, a group of ‘vaccine scientists’ are now turning their focus to a new global health concern: the bubonic plague.
The Oxford researchers who developed the AstraZeneca vaccine are now pushing to create a jab targeting a disease that once devastated Europe during the Middle Ages.
The bubonic plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, is infamous for its role in the Black Death, which wiped out nearly half of Europe’s population in the 14th century.
This disease, primarily spread by infected fleas or contact with infected animals, has largely remained a historical relic.
However, reports of “superbug” strains in remote regions have sparked renewed fears of a potential outbreak, prompting calls for preventative measures.
Unsurprisingly, climate change has been cited as factors increasing the risk of a resurgence.
Scientists are advocating for vaccine development as a precaution against a potential pandemic.
According to The Telegraph, researchers are pushing for the UK to stockpile a vaccine for the plague.
The Oxford Vaccine Group conducted trials in 2021 involving 40 healthy adults, which demonstrated that the vaccine is safe and capable of producing an immune response.
The team plans to publish these findings in a peer-reviewed journal soon, and further clinical trials are anticipated.
Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, head of the Oxford Vaccine Group, explained the current landscape:
“There are no licensed plague vaccines in the UK. Antibiotics remain the only treatment, but some licensed vaccines exist in Russia. The risk in the UK is currently very low. Historically, pandemics were driven by fleas on rodents, with subsequent person-to-person spread.”
Concerns about antimicrobial resistance, which could give rise to antibiotic-resistant plague strains, have added urgency to these efforts. Military scientists at Porton Down’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) have emphasized the need to expedite vaccine development to mitigate the risk of future outbreaks.
The push for a plague vaccine comes at a time when trust in vaccine development has been shaken. AstraZeneca, the pharmaceutical company behind the controversial COVID-19 jab, recently withdrew its vaccine from the European market.
This decision followed the company’s acknowledgement in court documents that the vaccine could cause rare but serious side effects, including Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS), a condition involving blood clots and low platelet counts.
While AstraZeneca insists the withdrawal was due to commercial reasons—citing declining demand and the availability of newer vaccines—this development has reignited scrutiny of the processes and motivations behind rapid vaccine rollouts.
As the Oxford team presses forward with its plague vaccine, questions linger about the balance between preparedness and public trust in scientific institutions.
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