Moderna’s Coronavirus Vaccine : A Ray of Hope
Moderna Inc will begin its last stage of Coronavirus vaccine trial in July. The US based drug company will start testing almost 30k volunteers from July. They are definitely leading in trying to find a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, and have enough doses to start with the trial. Their preliminary data which was released on Friday suggested that their vaccine was produced a promising result and it was able to provide protection to humans from COVID19 without worsening their condition. Since this is a very tricky virus to obtain a vaccination for, it is extremely important to develop a dose which will not expose the vaccinated people to any future complications.
The world is racing to find a vaccine for coronavirus, as it is getting difficult to contain it. Millions of people have been infected, and many have lost their lives due to Covid-19. As the world struggles to cope up with the devastation the virus has caused on both health and economic front, scientists around the world are working day and night to find a solution against the invisible enemy, Coronavirus. At present the only viable method to stay safe from the virus is to maintain social distancing and have good hygiene habits.
The time-frame for the development and distribution of any vaccine is quite large. The vaccine has to undergo a series of trials and tests before it is distributed to people world-wide. Many a times the vaccine worsens the condition of the vaccinated person when infected with the virus. Therefore, the struggle to develop a vaccine which will suit everyone and protect them from the virus is extremely difficult.
More than hundred groups world-wide are involved in developing a vaccine fit for human use. Many among them have reached their clinical trial phase. Moderna Inc, Johnson and Johnson, Eli Lilly are few such groups which have marched ahead of rest of the groups.
Johnson and Johnson, is also set to begin their human trials from July. They will test both young and old people to generate responses after getting vaccinated.
Another positive development can be seen in Eli Lilly’s antibody drug. It is reported that the drug can be available for the treatment of the coronavirus as early as September this year. They will enter clinical trials soon.
Other than these developments, scientists have also been researching about using already developed vaccine to temporarily provide resistance against the effects of coronavirus. The existing polio vaccine and tuberculosis vaccine have been taken into consideration for reducing the effect of the virus and increasing the immune response in the people.
With world sufferings increasing daily, it is of utmost importance to find a cure for the novel coronavirus. As many as 7 million people have been infected by COVID19 world-wide, and in India the cases crossed 300K mark. The high growth rate and increased number of deaths add pressure on to the health care system, which is already overburdened. In a process to treat the COVID19 patients, the other diseases are being ignored.