Due to the novel coronavirus, people around the world are in a state of panic and stress. Countries have closed off their international borders with some even doing the same for their domestic borders.
Strict lockdowns have been put in place with citizens being forced to self-quarantine at home. This has given some people the opportunity and free time they’ve needed to start a new hobby, exercise, or take online courses.
However, for most people, the transition to remote work hasn’t been easy. With family issues, health issues, internet connectivity, and other such barriers, coronavirus has put a lot of people in a pinch.
Not to mention, medical care systems have been vastly overwhelmed as hospitals are running out of beds, masks, and other medical supplies.
So, when will we see an end to this nightmare? It’s a tough question to answer since vaccines that are suitable for humans usually take a long time to develop. This is because they have to pass a series of trials on humans in order to ensure its efficiency and safety. This process could even take a few years.
There are a few potential coronavirus vaccine that might work against the virus and the World Health Organization is keeping a track of their clinical evaluations. Here are the top 4 contenders:
Oxford University
‘ChAdOx1 nCoV-19’ is the name of the vaccine that’s been developed by the University of Oxford in under three months. This coronavirus vaccine will allow human bodies to identify the spike protein of the virus.
It uses a combination of a weakened version of the common cold virus and the SARS-CoV-2’s genetic material. The latter is the main culprit behind COVID-19.
This candidate is in phase 1 of clinical trials and volunteers who are healthy have been injected with the same to check on the safety parameter.
Moderna Vaccine
Moderna, a biotech company based in Massachusetts, U.S., has been developing an RNA based vaccine. They’re doing so along with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
The vaccine, ‘mRNA-1273’ has already completed phase 1 of clinical trials and is ready to enter phase 2 trials. This vaccine works by entering the cells and making the viral protein by carrying molecular instructions.
Once the body recognizes the viral protein, it will then trigger the immune system of the body.
Sinovac Biotech
Based in Beijing, Sinovac Biotech created ‘PiCoVacc’, a potential vaccine. Scientists first injected monkeys with this and then later subjected the animals to novel coronavirus.
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It was found that those monkeys that had been injected with PiCoVacc were largely safe and protected from the virus. The vaccine is now conducting clinical trials on humans.
Pfizer and BioNtech vaccine
Pfizer, a pharmaceutical company in the U.S. and BioNtech, its German partner are collaborating on four candidates. However, their main contender, ‘BNT162’, began clinical trials.
Similarly to the Moderna vaccine, this is an RNA based coronavirus vaccine. The clinical trials for this vaccine will take place in the USA. Initial testing is said to occur on 360 volunteers that are healthy.