Why there is still no vaccine for Coronavirus
The covid-19 has shaken up the world and forced
scientists and researchers to hasten their
process to develop a vaccine against it.
However, there are quite a few reasons why
everyone has had a hard time actually making
one as soon as possible.
Welcome to Curious Minds, and today we’ll
be explaining why there is still no vaccine
for covid-19.
Make sure to stay until the end of our video
to learn precisely how a vaccine works and
why covid-19 has made it difficult for one
to be developed.
Also, don’t forget to subscribe to Curious
Mind for more great content like today.
Without further ado, let’s begin with our
countdown!
So, let’s start by explaining how a vaccine
works with all the necessary details, and
how could development of one be stymied by
the fact that the covid-19 is a virus and
not another type of microbe.
Vaccines are simple in principle but complex
in practice.
The ideal vaccine protects against infection,
prevents its spread, and does so safely.
But none of this is easily achieved, as vaccine
timelines show.
The main concern is that coronaviruses do
not tend to trigger long-lasting immunity.
If the natural infection doesn't give you
that much immunity except when it's a severe
infection, what will a vaccine do?
It could be better, but we don't know.
If a vaccine only protects for a year, the
virus will be with us for some time.
The genetic stability of the virus matters
too.
Some viruses, such as influenza, mutate so
rapidly that vaccine developers have to release
new formulations each year.
So far, some genetic changes have been spotted
in the virus's protein "spikes," which are
the foundation of most vaccines.
If the spike protein mutates too much, the
antibodies produced by a vaccine will efficiently
be out of date and might not bind the virus
effectively enough to prevent infection.
In a rush to develop a vaccine, safety must
prevail as a priority.
Scientists will have to check extremely carefully
for signs of dangerous side-effects.
What countries are working to create a vaccine?
• United States: Two candidates are being
tested in the United States.
The first human trial in the country began
in Seattle in March with a vaccine developed
by Moderna Inc.
In April, trials began in Philadelphia and
Kansas City for a second candidate, which
is being developed by American biotech firm
Inovio Pharmaceuticals.
• China: Trials for four other candidates
are taking place in China.
The Beijing and Wuhan Institutes of Biological
Products, arms of state-run Sinopharm, are
carrying out trials on another two candidates,
and experiments for a vaccine developed by
biotech firm Sinovac are also underway.
• United Kingdom: The University of Oxford
commenced human trials for a candidate in
late April, with $25 million in funding from
the UK government.
• Germany: Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is
working together with German firm BioNTech
and Chinese firm Fosun Pharma on a vaccine
that started human trials in late April in
Germany and soon after in the United States.
So, is the virus here to stay?
Being honest: yes.
Hopes for eliminating the virus start with
a vaccine but do not end there.
The virus will still be tough to conquer with
a vaccine that lasts for years.
As long as the infection rages in one country,
all other nations are at risk, so for us to
be truly free from it, we’d need to wait
several years.
Gavi, the vaccine alliance, proposed to boost
the availability of vaccines around the world
through an "advance market commitment".
If the process of getting a vaccine, testing
it, proving it, manufacturing it, planning
for its delivery, and building a vaccine program
all over the world, will take as long as we
think, then we should start planning it now.
How will we live with the virus?
People will have to adapt, and life will change.
People must play their part too, by maintaining
handwashing, physical distancing, and avoiding
gatherings, particularly in enclosed spaces.
For instance, at restaurants, tables will
have to be shielded from each other, and serving
staff will follow strict rules to prevent
spreading the virus.
It is too soon to know how the pandemic will
pan out.
We still don't understand the destiny of this
virus.
So, what do you think of the effects of covid-19
in the world and living with it without a
vaccine?
Let us know your predictions in the comments
below!
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