“SARS-CoV-2, the virus that leads to coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19), has spread rapidly from the first known cases in China in December 2019 to countries around the world.” said Medical News Today. As of today there are roughly 380,000 cases worldwide, including about 16,500 deaths. In response to this global pandemic, researchers are working in labs to try to develop a coronavirus vaccine as quickly as possible.
Development:
Researchers are taking many different approaches on developing a coronavirus vaccine. These different approaches include a whole virus vaccine, a recombinant protein subunit vaccine, an antibody vaccine, and a nucleic acid vaccine.
Whole Virus Vaccine:
Whole virus vaccines would consist of weakened or dead forms of the virus that causes the disease. This could be very effective at providing immunity in the long run but there is the risk that some people will develop symptoms of the illness due to the vaccination. Many companies and universities such as Johnson and Johnson and the University of Hong Kong are currently working on this type of vaccine.
Recombinant Protein Subunit Vaccine:
Recombinant protein subunit vaccines differentiate from the whole virus vaccine because they eliminate the risk of causing infection in people who receive the vaccine because the vaccine doesn’t contain any live pathogens. Researchers are now trying to see if they can develop a recombinant protein subunit vaccine that specifically targets the spike protein which is what the novel coronavirus uses to attach to and infect cells. University of Queensland and a children’s hospital in Texas are currently using this approach to develop a vaccine for the coronavirus.
Antibody Vaccine:
This approach is used by researchers who are investigating whether they can create a vaccine using the antibodies from the SARS outbreak in 2002. SARS is very similar to COVID-19 as they come from the same family disease of coronavirus. So far, scientists have found that the antibody used to neutralize the SARS virus has also helped to limit how successfully the new coronavirus infects cells in humans.
Nucleic Acid Vaccine:
Nucleic acid vaccines inject genetic material such as DNA and RNA into live hosts. The cells that now contain the new nucleic acid make the proteins that were encoded in the DNA or RNA which they then present to the immune system. The process is very complex: however, this vaccine allows the immune system to fight off specific pathogens. This process looks very promising as it delivers immunity to humans: however, this approach has only been seen in veterinary medicine to this day. Scientists are now pushing these limits and are working with companies to develop a vaccine using this approach.
When will these vaccines be ready?
Estimations and projections as to when these vaccines will be ready vary tremendously depending now what type of approach and whether the person projecting is a scientist, politician, or a businessman. Most politicians and businessman are saying that the vaccine could be ready in just mere months.
However, based on knowledge and abundant research, scientists believe that developing a vaccine for coronavirus could take up to a year and might not be possible during the current outbreak.
This may seem like a long time to people, but the time taken accounts for the countless number of trials and approvals needed from the FDA. This long process ensures that the final vaccine that is developed is safe and efficient for people to use.
A Better Future 