Predictions for 5 Coronavirus Vaccines that are in the final stages
Predictions for 5 Coronavirus Vaccines that are in the final stages With more than 21 millions cases worldwide, more than 700 thousands deaths, the world is still under the grip of the coronavirus. From UK to America, from China to Russia to India, pharmaceutical companies. and research institutions in every major country have been working round the clock to develop a vaccine to tackle this pandemic.
The United States Launched Operation Warp Speed (OWS) which aims to deliver 300 million doses of a safe, effective vaccine for COVID-19 by January 2021
As per standards and protocol, the ideal time required for a vaccine to be available for large scale public use is about 12-18 months, but with the uniqueness of the situation we’re facing, vaccine research has been ramped up, testing phases have been combined and thousands of people are being tested around the world, and as a result, there are some vaccines, that are already in the third phase of development.
In the third stage of vaccine development, scientists administer the vaccine to thousands of volunteers check if the vaccine triggers an immune response. This stage is also useful to understand the possible side effects of the vaccine. If the vaccine is safe, it is produced in the millions for the general population.
So. Let’s take a look at 5 vaccines that are in the final stages of development.
1: The vaccine developed by the University of Oxford in collaboration with the British-Swedish company, AstraZeneca:
This vaccine coming out of the United Kingdom also got the support of the United States which awarded the vaccine $1.2 billion for its development. The vaccine is based on studies on monkeys. It is called ChAdOx1 and is based on a chimpanzee adenovirus.
According to Oxford
ChAdOx1 was chosen as the most suitable vaccine technology for a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine as it has been shown to help the immune system deliver a strong response from one dose in other vaccines. It has been genetically changed so that it is impossible for it to grow in humans. This also makes it safer to give to children, the elderly and anyone with a pre-existing condition such as diabetes. Chimpanzee adenoviral vectors are a very well-studied vaccine type, having been used safely in thousands of subjects.
The results of the vaccine in phase one and two have shown that the vaccine worked in raising antibodies against the coronavirus and caused no major side effects. After this promising result, the vaccine has been passed onto phase three, in countries like Brazil, India, South Africa as well as England. AstraZeneca in a statement has said, that, if the results of testing in these countries prove successful
It is predicted that they can produce an emergency vaccine as early as October 2020. In line with the statement, the Serum Institute of India has committed to produce millions of doses immediately after the clinical trials phase when manufacturing approval is received
2: The Sinopharm vaccine being tested in UAE :
This vaccine is being developed by the world’s sixth-largest vaccine manufacturer, Sinopharm CNBG. This was the first inactivated vaccine to reach phase three of the trials, wherein they reached a monumental milestone of testing more than 5000 volunteers. The cosmopolitan nature of UAE has been useful in these trials as the 5000+ volunteers of the vaccine have come from 80 different nationalities. Sinopharm has stated that if successful, the vaccine is predicted to be ready for public use by the end of the year
3: A vaccine developed by a Chinese company CanSino Biologics:
This vaccine has also reached the third and the final stage of testing. This vaccine has been developed in partnership with the Institute of Biology at the country’s Academy of Military Medical Sciences and is based on an adenovirus called Ad5. Phase 2 of the trial has shown promising results wherein the people who were administered the vaccine produced a strong immune response.
This prompted other countries to participate in this study, and Saudi Arabia has offered to run phase 3 trials in their country. With the vaccine being tested by the Chinese Military
It is predicted that if successful this vaccine can be released by the end of the year.
4: Vaccine by BioNTech – Pfizer and Fosun Pharma
Another entrant in the final stage of vaccine development is a vaccine being produced by German company BioNTech in collaboration with New York based Pfizer and Fosun Pharma – a Chinese drug manufacturer.
It is an mRNA vaccine wherein the volunteers who participated in phase one and two trials produced antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, in addition to immune cells called T cells that respond to the virus. Sleep disturbances and sore arms were some of the side effects developed by some of the volunteers.
This seems to be one of the most sought after vaccines. If successful, the European Union has made a deal to secure over 400 million, the United States, 100 million and Japan made a deal to secure 120 million doses of the vaccine. It is predicted that Pfizer has the capacity to produce 1.3 billion vaccine doses by the end of 2021.
The final phase of trials is being conducted in Brazil, Argentina, Germany and the United States. If successful, this could very well be the vaccine that could save the day.
5: Vaccine by Moderna in partnership with the National Institute of Health:
This vaccine is based on messenger RNA (mRNA) that’ll produce viral proteins in the body to protect the body from the virus. This vaccine seems to be effective in monkeys and protects the animal from coronavirus. The initial phases of human testing yielded positive results and the vaccine was approved for phase 3 on the 27th of July.
The final stage is predicted to test on approximately 30,000 healthy individuals from more than 90 sites in the United States and if successful it is predicted that the vaccine by October 2021-22.
Recently, Russia started producing the first batch of Covid-19 virus vaccine Sputnik V after President Vladimir Putin announced it had been first in the world to approve it. And with the vaccine already in the final phase, there is optimism around the world of getting rid of the deadly coronavirus.
Overall, it appears that the world an be optimistic about a Coronavirus Vaccine in the next 4 months. With production likely to take time, it is possible that every single citizen of this planet could be vaccinated in the next 24 months.
Reading Resources: National institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
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