COVID-19 vaccine

COVID-19 vaccine

As the spread of the new coronavirus progresses, there are many people around the world who are anxiously waiting for the vaccine to be able to stop it.

What would the COVID-19 vaccine do?

When you come in contact with a bacteria or virus, your body's immune system produces antibodies to fight it. A vaccine forces your immune system to create antibodies against a particular disease, usually with an inert or weakened version of the germs.

Later, if you come into contact with them again, your immune system knows what to do. The vaccine gives you immunity so you don't get sick or the illness is milder than it could be. A vaccine against COVID-19 would slow its spread around the world. Fewer people would get sick and more lives could be saved.

How are vaccines developed?

How long would it take to develop a vaccine? According to the World Health Organization, there are more than 100 potential vaccines in various stages of development in various countries around the world. There are several clinical trials in humans. But there are things that cannot be rushed, such as the time it takes for the immune system to respond to a vaccine or the waiting period to identify side effects.

Even if researchers find a vaccine against the new coronavirus, it could be 12 to 18 months before it is ready for use. That is a fraction of the time it usually takes.

Before a vaccine can be used, it has to go through a development and testing process to ensure that it is effective against the virus or bacteria and does not cause additional problems. The stages of development generally follow this chronology: 

• Exploratory stage. This is the beginning of laboratory research to find something that can treat or prevent a disease. It usually lasts between 2 to 4 years.
• Pre-clinical stage . Scientists use laboratory tests and animals, such as mice or monkeys, to do the tests and determine if the vaccine works. This stage generally lasts 1 to 2 years. Many potential vaccines do not advance to other stages. But if the tests are successful and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gives its approval, the clinical trials will proceed.
• Clinical development.  This is a three-stage human testing process. Typically, Phase I lasts 1 to 2 years and fewer than 100 people participate. Phase II lasts at least 2 years and hundreds of people participate. Phase III lasts 3 to 4 years and thousands of people participate. In total, the clinical trial process can take a minimum of 15 years. One third of vaccines advance from Phase I to final approval.
• Normative evaluation and approval. Scientists at the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study information from clinical trials and approve it.
• Manufacture. Production of the vaccine begins. The FDA inspects the factory and approves the drug labels.
• QA. Scientists and government agencies control the manufacturing process and the people who receive the vaccine. They want to make sure it continues to function safely. 

Progress of the coronavirus vaccine

This version of the coronavirus first emerged in late 2019, but scientists have been able to use research on similar coronaviruses that can cause severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). for its acronym in English).

Efforts to combat those diseases played a role in how quickly clinical trials for the COVID-19 vaccine developed.

Some of those vaccines in clinical trials use messenger RNA (mRNA). This contains the instructions for creating the spike protein that allows the virus to enter human cells.

The mRNA vaccine tells your immune cells to make the protein and to act like they have already been infected with the coronavirus, to give you some immunity against it.

Another vaccine candidate uses people's DNA that is designed to boost an immune response against the virus. Some vaccines have weakened versions of adenovirus, one of the viruses that cause the common cold. It has been combined with genes from the spike protein of the new coronavirus to activate your immune system to fight it.

There are other vaccines that are not in the clinical trial stages to teach your immune system to target coronavirus with versions of the spike protein or the virus itself. Some companies that develop the vaccines are also looking for ways to boost vaccine production quickly when one that works safely is found.

Considering that there are more than 300 million people in the United States alone, the mass vaccination campaign will be a team effort carried out by various companies and government agencies.

Health experts say the coronavirus could be seasonal, like colds and flu. A vaccine may not be ready until the current pandemic is over, but it could be critical later.