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• Types of influenza (flu) vaccines include the injection (killed virus), recombinant (made without flu virus), and nasal spray vaccines (containing live virus).
• Each year, influenza viruses change slightly, making the seasonal vaccine used in previous years ineffective.
• The vaccine is generally effective against the influenza virus within two weeks of administration.
• The vaccine is only effective against the strains of the virus that match the vaccine.
• The seasonal flu vaccine effectiveness is dependent upon the extent of the match between the virus strains used to prepare the vaccine and those viruses in actual circulation in the community. The age and health status of the individual also play a role in determining the vaccine effectiveness.

Many people worry about side effects from the flu shot, but serious complications are rare. Some people believe that they can actually get the flu from receiving the shot, but this is not the case. For the majority of people, the risks of developing the flu are far greater than any risks associated with the vaccine.

The flu (or common flu) is a viral infection that spreads from person to person in secretions of the nose and lungs, for example when sneezing. Medically, the common flu is another name for influenza. Flu is a respiratory infection, that is, an infection that develops primarily in the lungs. People often call respiratory infections caused by other viruses the flu, but this is incorrect. Influenza usually causes higher fever, more malaise, and severe body aches than other respiratory infections. Although other viruses may cause these flu-like symptoms, they do so less frequently.

Influenza viruses are divided scientifically into three types, designated A, B, and C. Influenza types A and B are responsible for epidemics of respiratory illness that occur almost every winter. Influenza type C usually causes either a very mild respiratory illness or no symptoms at all; it does not cause epidemics and does not have the severe public health impact of influenza types A and B. Type A viruses are divided into subtypes and are named based on differences in two viral surface proteins called hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N). There are 16 known H subtypes and nine known N subtypes.

The flu is a common illness. Every year in the United States, on average

• 5%-20% of the population gets the flu,
• more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu-related complications,
• about 36,000 people die from the flu or its complications.

The so-called swine flu pandemic of 2009 was caused by a novel influenza A virus designated H1N1 based upon its surface protein types. This virus was originally referred to as swine flu because many of the genes in this new virus were very similar to influenza viruses that normally occur in pigs in North America. However, this virus was actually quite different from the typical swine flu viruses found in pigs.

The flu is highly infectious and is a potentially serious viral respiratory infection that can even be life threatening. Whereas with other viral respiratory infections the symptoms usually are mild and most people can continue working or going to school while ill, with the flu, the symptoms are severe and prolonged and cause individuals to miss days of work or school. The infection stresses the body. In addition, superinfections may occur as a complication of the flu. Superinfections are bacterial infections that occur on top of a respiratory infection. Bacterial respiratory infections also are a serious type of infection, and the simultaneous viral and bacterial infection can overwhelm the function of the lungs and the body. Among the elderly and the very young, it can cause death. Because of its infectiousness, morbidity (severity of symptoms and time lost from work or school), and the potential for death, it is important to prevent the flu by influenza vaccination. Although there are medications to treat the flu, they are expensive, not as effective as influenza vaccination, and need to be started within 24-48 hours of the start of symptoms.

Flu vaccines are routinely available for seasonal influenza. Pandemic vaccines may also be developed for specific strains of the flu virus that cause widespread disease, such as occurred with the H1N1 virus in 2009.

Each year, composition of the influenza viruses change, making the vaccine used in previous years ineffective. Each year, a new vaccine must be prepared that will be effective against the types of influenza virus that are expected to circulate in the upcoming influenza season. These are known as seasonal flu vaccines. The reason for the differences in circulating strains of the flu virus is that the virus can mutate (or change its structure) rapidly, leading to new subtypes of the virus. The key is to be able to predict which influenza viruses are going to cause infection and to prepare a vaccine against those viruses. Usually, scientists can predict accurately which types of influenza virus will cause infections and prepare an appropriate vaccine. Typically, the viruses used to prepare flu vaccine are grown in eggs, but a newer, egg-free version of the vaccine has been developed. In 2017, updated guidelines from the Influenza Vaccine and Egg Allergy Practice Parameter Workgroup commissioned by the Joint Task Force on Practice Parameters (JTFPP) stated that the risk is so small that even asking patients about egg allergy is no longer necessary. Health care professionals can now safely administer flu vaccines to people who are allergic to eggs. Flu viruses may also be made using recombinant technology that does not involve growing the actual flu virus in eggs.

The vaccine is generally effective against the influenza virus within two weeks of administration. The vaccine is only effective against the strains of the virus that match the vaccine. These strains vary from flu season to flu season each year. This is the reason that revaccination is required annually with the vaccine that matches the strains of influenza that are currently prevalent.

Flu vaccine is an inactivated vaccine, meaning that it contains killed influenza virus, or a recombinant vaccine, meaning that it was made without using virus particles at all. Health care providers inject the vaccine into muscles or skin, stimulating the immune system to produce an immune response (antibodies) to the influenza virus.

Medical professionals administer the "flu shot" vaccine as a single dose of liquid injected through the skin into muscle (intramuscular or IM). Typically, health care professionals inject the flu vaccine into the deltoid muscle at the side of the arm, using alcohol rubbed over the skin for sterilization. Health care professionals administer the vaccine annually, each fall. Side effects of the flu vaccine are uncommon.

Two types of vaccines are available: a trivalent vaccine that targets three strains of flu virus, as well as a quadrivalent vaccine that targets four strains. Both the trivalent and quadrivalent vaccines are available as an intramuscular injection. For people who are 18-64 years old, a jet injector (that uses a strong stream of fluid to penetrate the skin rather than a needle) can be used for administration of certain vaccine types. Special vaccines preparations are available for people over 65 years of age that produce a stronger immune response.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends the use of injectable influenza vaccines (either trivalent or quadrivalent, including inactivated influenza vaccines and recombinant influenza vaccines) or the nasal spray vaccine for the influenza season of 2019-20.

The nasal-spray flu vaccine (sometimes called LAIV for live attenuated influenza vaccine, brand name FluMist) was first licensed in 2003. It is directed against the same strains of virus as the flu shot but differs in that it contains weakened live influenza viruses instead of killed viruses and is administered by nasal spray instead of injection. The vaccine is termed an attenuated vaccine because the vaccine viruses are weakened so that they themselves do not cause severe flu symptoms. The nasal spray flu vaccine for 2019-20 is approved for use in non-pregnant individuals 2-49 years old. It should not be used for people with certain underlying medical conditions. All LAIV are quadrivalent (four-component).

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that all children 6 months and older receive the injectable (shot) vaccine if possible. The AAP recommends the injectable flu vaccine for children because it has provided the most consistent protection against all strains of the flu virus in recent years. The nasal spray vaccine may be used this year to vaccinate children who would not otherwise receive the flu shot (such as with a shortage of the injectable vaccine or refusal to receive an injection), as long as they are 2 years of age or older and healthy without an underlying medical condition.

The live viruses in the nasal-spray vaccine are weakened so that they do not cause severe symptoms. However, mild symptoms can occur as a side effect of the vaccination. Side effects of the nasal-spray flu vaccine can included runny nose, headache, sore throat, and cough. Children who receive the vaccine may also develop mild fever and muscle aches.

Flu vaccines are developed each year and are designed to protect against the influenza viruses that are predicted to be the most common during the upcoming season. Some vaccines contain three viral strains (trivalent), while others contain four virus types (quadrivalent).

The flu vaccines stimulate the immune system to produce of antibodies in the body that fight the particular flu virus in the vaccination. When the virus enters a vaccinated person, the antibodies attack and kill the virus and prevent infection. Antibodies are produced against the specific strains of the virus contained in the yearly vaccine.

Flu vaccination does not protect against infection caused by microbes other than the influenza virus.

Health care professionals recommend getting the influenza vaccination before flu season begins in your community. It takes about two weeks for the vaccine to produce a sufficient antibody response against the flu. Flu season can begin in October and last as late as May.

The CDC recommends that every individual over 6 months of age receive the seasonal flu vaccine. While everyone should get a vaccination, it is particularly important for some groups. Vaccination is especially important for people who are at high risk of developing serious complications if they get the flu, such as those with asthma, diabetes, and chronic lung disease as well as pregnant women and those over 65 years of age. It is also important for caregivers to get vaccinations, in addition to those who live with people in these risk groups.

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Those who should avoid the flu vaccine include the following:

• People who have ever had a severe allergic reaction to influenza vaccine
• People with a history of Guillain-Barré syndrome (a severe paralytic illness, also called GBS) that occurred after receiving influenza vaccine and who are not at risk for severe illness from influenza should generally not receive vaccine.
• People under 65 years of age should not receive the high-dose flu shot.
• If you are sick with a fever when you go to get your flu shot, you should talk to your doctor or nurse about whether or not you should get your shot later. However, you can get a flu shot at the same time you have a respiratory illness without fever or if you have another mild illness.

Serious side effects of the flu vaccine are uncommon. Side effects of the injection vaccine include soreness at the site of the injection, muscle aching, fever, and feeling unwell. Very rarely, people have reported serious allergic reactions. The viruses in the nasal spray vaccine are weakened and do not cause severe symptoms; they cannot cause you to get the flu. Side effects from the nasal spray may include runny nose, mild fever, sore throat, cough, muscle aches, headache, and vomiting.

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an illness characterized by fever, nerve damage, and muscle weakness. In 1976, vaccination with the swine flu vaccine was associated with development of GBS. Studies have evaluated if other flu vaccines were associated with GBS, with only one of the studies showing an association. That single study suggested that one person out of 1 million vaccinated people may be at risk of GBS associated with the vaccine.

What are Cancer Vaccines?

Vaccines, also called vaccinations, are medicines that help the body fight disease. They can train the immune system to recognize and destroy harmful substances. There are 2 types of cancer vaccines:

Doctors give prevention vaccines to healthy people to keep certain cancers from developing. Like vaccines for the chicken pox or the flu, they protect the body from viruses that can cause disease. A person has to get the vaccine before the virus infects him or her. Otherwise, the vaccine will not work.

There are 2 types of cancer prevention vaccines approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA):

HPV vaccine. The vaccine protects against the human papillomavirus (HPV). If the virus is long-lasting, it can cause some types of cancer. The FDA has approved HPV vaccines to prevent:

Cervical, vaginal, and vulvar cancer

HPV can also cause other cancers the FDA has not approved the vaccine for, such as oral cancer.

Hepatitis B vaccine. This vaccine prevents hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Long-lasting infection with HBV can cause liver cancer.

Talk with your health care team about whether you should be vaccinated against HPV and/or HBV.

Cancer treatment vaccines, also called therapeutic vaccines, are a type of immunotherapy. The vaccines work to boost the body's natural defenses to fight a cancer. Doctors give treatment vaccines to people already diagnosed with cancer. The vaccines may:

Prevent the cancer from coming back

Destroy any cancer cells still in the body after other treatments have ended

Stop a tumor from growing or spreading

Antigens are substances on the surface of cells that are not normally part of the body. The immune system attacks the antigens, usually getting rid of them. This leaves the immune system with a “memory” that helps it respond to those antigens in the future.

Cancer treatment vaccines boost the immune system's ability to recognize and destroy antigens. Often, cancer cells have certain molecules called cancer-specific antigens on their surface that healthy cells do not have. When these molecules are given to a person, the molecules act as antigens. They stimulate the immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells that have these molecules on their surface. Most cancer vaccines also contain adjuvants, which are substances that may help strengthen the immune response.

Some cancer vaccines are made for individual patients. These types of vaccines are produced from the person's tumor sample. This means that surgery is needed to get a large enough sample of the tumor to create the vaccine. Other cancer vaccines target specific cancer antigens and are given to people whose tumors have those antigens on the surface of the tumor cells.

Most cancer treatment vaccines are only available through clinical trials, which are research studies involving volunteers. But in 2010, the FDA approved sipuleucel-T (Provenge) for men with metastatic prostate cancer. Metastatic means the cancer has spread from where it began to other parts of the body. Sipuleucel-T is customized for each person through a series of steps.

First, white blood cells are removed from the person's blood. White blood cells help the body fight infections and diseases.

Then the white blood cells are modified in a laboratory to recognize and target prostate cancer cells.

Next the modified cells are put back into the person through a vein. This is similar to a blood transfusion. The modified cells teach the immune system to find and destroy prostate cancer cells.

Developing cancer treatment vaccines that work is hard because:

Cancer cells suppress the immune system. That is how the cancer is able to develop and grow in the first place. Researchers are using adjuvants in vaccines to try to fix this problem.

Cancer cells develop from a person’s own healthy cells. As a result, the cancer cells may not “look” harmful to the immune system. The immune system may ignore the cells instead of finding and destroying them.

Larger or more advanced tumors are hard to get rid of using only a vaccine. This is one reason why doctors often give people cancer vaccines with other treatments.

People who are sick or older can have weak immune systems. Their bodies may not be able to produce a strong immune response after vaccination. That limits how well a vaccine works. Also, some cancer treatments may damage a person’s immune system, limiting its ability to respond to a vaccine.

Because of these reasons, some researchers think cancer treatment vaccines may work better for smaller tumors or early-stage cancers.

Clinical trials are important for learning more about cancer vaccines. Researchers are testing vaccines for several types of cancers, including:

Bladder cancer. Researchers are studying the effectiveness of a vaccine made from a virus modified to contain HER2 cells. These cells live on the surface of some bladder cancer tumors. The virus may help teach the immune system to find and destroy these tumor cells. Researchers are also comparing a standard bladder cancer therapy against standard therapy with a vaccine.

Brain tumors. There are many studies testing treatment vaccines aimed at certain molecules on the surface of brain tumor cells. Some focus on newly diagnosed brain cancer. Others focus on cancer that has come back, or recurred. Several of the studies include children and teens.

Breast cancer. Several studies are testing treatment vaccines for breast cancer, given alone or with other therapies. Other researchers are working to get prevention vaccines into clinical trials.

Cervical cancer. The FDA has approved cervical cancer prevention vaccines. Research continues on vaccines that help treat the disease in its various stages.

Colorectal cancer. Researchers are creating treatment vaccines that encourage the body to attack cells with antigens thought to cause colorectal cancer. These antigens include carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), MUC1, guanylyl cyclase C, and NY-ESO-1.

Kidney cancer. Researchers are testing the use of several cancer vaccines to treat kidney cancer. They are also testing vaccines to prevent later-stage kidney cancer from recurring. One vaccine, which a patient gets after surgery, is made from the patient’s tumor. Researchers make other vaccines from proteins found on the surface of kidney cancer cells or blood vessel cells in the tumor.

Leukemia. Studies are looking at treatment vaccines for various types of leukemia, such as acute myeloid leukemia and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Some are meant to help other treatments, such as stem cell transplants, work better. Other vaccines made from a person's cancer cells and other cells may help the immune system destroy the cancer.

Lung cancer. Lung cancer treatment vaccines in clinical trials target antigens. These include MAGE-3, which is found in 42% of lung cancers and NY-ESO-1, found in 30% of lung cancers. Others target antigens such as p53, survivin, and MUC1.

Melanoma. Researchers are testing several vaccines, given alone or with other therapies. Destroyed melanoma cells and antigens in the vaccines encourage the immune system to destroy other melanoma cells in the body.

Myeloma. There are several clinical trials studying vaccines in people with multiple myeloma who are near remission. Researchers are also testing vaccines in people with smoldering myeloma or who need to have an autologous stem cell transplant.

Pancreatic cancer. Researchers are working on several treatment vaccines designed to boost the immune system’s response to pancreatic cancer cells. People receive some of the vaccine as the only treatment. Some receive a vaccine with another therapy.

Prostate cancer. As mentioned above, sipuleucel-T is a vaccine doctors can use to treat men with metastatic prostate cancer. Now researchers want to know if the vaccine can help men with less advanced prostate cancer.

If you want to learn more about joining a cancer treatment vaccine clinical trial, talk with your health care team. You may consider asking the following questions:

Are researchers testing a vaccine for my type and stage of cancer?

Where is the clinical trial located?

What is the vaccine and how does it work?

How is this vaccine made? Will I need blood cells or tumor tissue removed to make the vaccine?

How will I receive the vaccine and how often?

How long will I need the vaccine?

What are the possible side effects?

Can I receive the vaccine with other treatments such as radiation therapy or chemotherapy?

Is there another treatment option for this cancer?

Devising policies that work might make up for the field’s bungled response to the 2008 crisis.

Devising policies that work might make up for the field’s bungled response to the 2008 crisis.

Photographer: LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA/AFP

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Macroeconomists famously mishandled the crisis of 2008. Their models mostly excluded the financial sector, making it difficult to foresee the possibility of a crisis like the one that happened. In the aftermath, some argued heavily against fiscal stimulus, blunting countries’ ability to respond effectively. And some warned of inflation that never even came close to materializing.

But with the coming of the coronavirus depression, macroeconomists have a golden opportunity to redeem themselves. Shutdowns have given theorists some time to think about what’s coming. This downturn is going to be bigger and more complicated than the last one, which only increases the need for theories to anticipate some of the potential scenarios.

Traditionally, many macroeconomists tend to think in terms of a simple model of aggregate demand and aggregate supply. In this basic framework, there are two kinds of recessions. The first is caused by demand shocks, in which consumers decide to hoard their money instead of going shopping. The second is caused by supply shocks, in which producers find it more expensive to produce.

Recessions in the last century generally fell into one of these two categories. The Great Recession and the Great Depression were both caused by huge financial crises, and displayed all the hallmarks of demand shortages -- in particular, falling prices. In contrast, the oil crises of the 1970s were fairly obviously a supply shock, causing inflation and stagnation at once.

But it’s not yet clear whether the coronavirus shutdowns will look like either of these textbook examples. Price changes are usually the way economists tell the difference. During the acute phase of the crisis, when shutdowns were beginning, inflation expectations fell, which looks like a demand shock. But they bounced back quickly:

Spreads suggest prices haven't collapsed

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Interestingly, the first macroeconomic models to tackle the shutdown predict exactly this sort of ambiguous effect on inflation. A new paper by economists Veronica Guerrieri, Guido Lorenzoni, Ludwig Straub and Ivan Werning tries to model an economy where some industries closed down while others stay open. Realistically, they assume that workers from the former sectors can’t just go to work in the latter. A supply shock in the shutdown sectors thus turns into a demand shock for everyone else, and prices can move in either direction.

What can the government due to stabilize the situation in such a world? Relying on standard epidemiological models, the economists conclude that shutdowns are indeed the optimal policy in the short term. Economic relief spending is important, but it fails to have its traditional Keynesian stimulative effect because consumers can’t spend their checks on businesses that are shut down; thus, the economists recommend that monetary policy be used to keep businesses afloat.

This provides theoretical backing for most of the measures in the recent $2 trillion relief bill, as well as some additional steps. It implies that the government’s emergency loans to businesses are crucial. And it also suggests that paying companies to keep workers on payroll and putting cash directly in people’s pockets can sustain aggregate demand.

The goal of these short-run measures is actually twofold: first, to allow people to survive the shutdowns comfortably and second, to try and restart the economy as quickly as possible after shutdowns are lifted. The ideal scenario is one in which the shutdowns are just like turning the economy off and on again: In this pleasant fantasy, when the virus has been suppressed with testing regimes and other public-health measures, people would just go back to shopping at the same stores, eating at the same restaurants and working in the same offices. The economy would then bounce back to where it had been.

Unfortunately, that is not going to happen. It’s a good goal to strive for, which is why payroll preservation measures, emergency loans and the like are so important. But the epidemic will undoubtedly change the economy in enduring ways. Consumption habits will shift, as will patterns of global trade. This means lots of business models that worked perfectly well before coronavirus will be unviable after. The large number of workers who have lost their jobs -- some economists are forecasting an unemployment rate of 13% or more -- will have to be reintegrated into the workforce. And financial institutions will find that some of the corporate debt they own will no longer be good.

So macroeconomists need to figure out what this will mean for the next five or 10 years, after shutdowns are lifted. After reopening, it’s not clear whether the biggest factors weighing down the economy will be supply-based or demand-based. Financial weakness and a backlog of unemployed workers will tend to depress demand. But a contraction in global trade will crimp supply as well; cutting off cheap foreign supply chains might be a bit like cutting off oil. The shutdowns themselves might also look like a supply shock, because they make it harder to source goods and services.

And of course, it’s possible that these supply and demand shocks will interact with each other in a few years in a different way than they might in the short term. To properly predict how the coronavirus recession will play out, macroeconomists will need to take into account many factors -- labor market disruptions, the financial sector and international trade.

Which means they need to get started now.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Updated March 18, 2020 17:40:30

It was a big step in the global fight against coronavirus.

Key points:

• Across the world, about 35 companies and academic institutions are in the race to create a coronavirus vaccine
• One has started human trials, and another three claim to be close, with EU leaders predicting a vaccine could be produced within six months
• However experts are warning the population to be patient, with WHO officials maintaining vaccine won't be available before "the middle of next year"

At a research centre in the US city of Seattle this week, Jennifer Haller, who doesn't have the virus, became the first human to be given a potential vaccine.

"Everybody is feeling so helpless right now," she said.

"And I realised that there was something that I could do to help, and I'm excited to be here."

Ms Haller is one of 45 volunteers being given two injections 28 days apart to test the vaccine's safety. It is one of the large number of processes necessary before any vaccine can be given the green light for mass production and distribution.

But this Seattle research company — the Kaiser Permanente Washington Research Institute — is not alone. The race is on, and Australia is well and truly in it.

A team of scientists at the University of Queensland announced in January — when the outbreak was in its early stages — it was working on a vaccine.

The team, part of an international vaccines development group called the Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), is now working "around the clock".

A spokeswoman said the team had chosen a candidate vaccine and pre-clinical testing had begun.

"[It is] progressing as rapidly as possible towards human trials, hopefully by the end of June," the spokeswoman said.

Approvals could be fast-tracked

Across the world, about 35 companies and academic institutions are in the race.

At least four are already testing in animals, and another two are preparing to begin human trials.

Coronavirus questions answered

According to reports from the Chinese Communist Party People's Daily newspaper this week, researchers at the country's Academy of Military Medical Sciences received approval to launch early-stage clinical trials for a potential vaccine this week.

A Chinese government-controlled clinical trial database claims a "phase one" test will determine whether the experimental shot is safe in humans.

It is aiming to recruit 108 healthy people to take part in the trial, which will run between March 16 and December 31.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen surprised the world this week, suggesting that the regulatory process for vaccines could be sped up and that a coronavirus shot could be on the market within six months.

That is at odds with experts at the World Health Organisation (WHO), which does not expect a fully-tested and approved vaccine to be ready to reach the market before the middle of 2021.

But Ms von der Leyen said she believed the shorter timeline was possible following talks with CureVac, a German biotech company working on a coronavirus vaccine.

The EU offered the company €80 million ($147 million) in financial backing, and reports this week suggested the Trump administration even made attempts to buy the company.

However those reports were rejected by the White House and the company itself.

In the US, along with the Seattle research firm, Boston-based biotech firm Moderna has publicly said it would begin human trials next month.

What the experts are saying about coronavirus:

'It is going to be a long process'

Despite the pockets of optimism, most scientists and experts suggest that, even with fast-tracked timelines, there is still a long way to go.

Vaccines, like all medicines, need to undergo a series of clinical trials before authorities decide if they are safe and can be distributed to the general public.

Jodie McVernan, director of epidemiology at Melbourne's Doherty Institute, told the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday that effort was being coordinated by CEPI.

But she warned there were processes in place to protect the public, and patience was important.

"We need to go from discovery, to development, to clinical trials," Dr McVernan said.

"We won't have evidence if the vaccines will work until they're appropriately tried.

"All these steps need to take place and that's why we're saying that it is going to be a long process."

Candidate vaccine prompts cells to make coronavirus protein

Scientists have taken the blood samples of one of Australia's first patients diagnosed with coronavirus and identified the antibodies recruited by the body to fight the illness.

It is hoped the information will help evaluate any vaccine candidate, as in an ideal world the vaccine should mimic the body's immune response.

Back in Seattle, the vaccine being tested on Ms Haller uses a genetic code that instructs cells to make the same protein found in coronavirus.

Most vaccines use a weak strain of the actual virus. But this vaccine uses the protective antibodies created by the body after breaking down that protein to grab hold of the spikes on the outside of the virus and prevent it from getting into the body's system.

It has been labelled "cutting edge" by the scientists behind it.

For Ms Haller, the motivation to be used as a human guinea pig was simple:

"I hope that we get to a working vaccine quickly and that we can save lives and that people can go back to life as soon as possible."

A sentiment shared by most of the world right now.

Additional reporting by ABC medical reporter Sophie Scott and AP