The world is still living with the extreme health threat from what is now known officially as the Sars-CoV-2 virus. Because the corona virus germ spreads easily, a vast number of the earth’s populous of 7.8 billion people (United Nations elaborated by the Worldometer/August, 2020) is still susceptible to it. As a result of this humongous threat, large numbers of international countries are joining the race to develop a vaccine that could be used to curb the virus’ spread. Governments and researchers are aiming to safely provide billions of human beings with immunity in eighteen months or less – a previously unprecedented accomplishment. Many nations believe that a successful immunization program would allow present day lock downs to be lifted safely with the addition of more relaxed social distancing then applied.
How exactly does this immunization process take place? A vaccine operates by training the body’s immune response to recognize the viral (or bacterial) invader as the body learns how to prepare for the danger with newly formed antibodies. When we are exposed to the pathogen in the future, it will then know how to fight the germ. Unfortunately at this point in time, no one really knows whether a patient who has recovered from the illness has already established a natural immunity to the germ. While our new or nova version of the corona virus family was only discovered in late 2019, similar coronavirus “cousins,” SARS (China/2003) and MERS (Middle East/2012), had recent epidemic outbreaks. WebMD explains that “Efforts to fight those diseases played a role in the record speed of the COVID-19 vaccine trials that are underway.”
In the past decades, vaccinations meant using the method of exposing the patient to a weakened form of the original intruder. Indeed, the influenza vaccine has used the main strains of the flu (predicted to be occurring in that particular season) as it gives its injection into the patient with little or no harm. This first approach is still being used by some scientists in their research labs.
A second, newer, and less-tested method is also being explored in international laboratories. BBC.com explains that “Because we know the genetic code of the new coronavirus…..we have the complete blueprint for building it.” The British researchers at Oxford University have put tiny sections of the viral genetic code into a harmless virus that infected lab chimpanzees. The Brit news media continues “They (the scientists) appear to have developed a safe virus that looks enough like the coronavirus to produce an immune response.”
Still a third and completely new approach for vaccine development is using pieces of raw genetic code (either DNA or RNA) which are injected into the recipient’s body. The thinking here is that after the injection, the body should begin to produce small bits of viral proteins that the immune system will begin to learn to fight.
WebMD gives these 6 stages of vaccine development. No timeline will be given in each stage due to the extreme shortening of time in months/years now existing in labs around the world:
1. Exploratory Stage. This is the beginning of lab research to find something that can treat or prevent the disease.
2. Pre-Clinical Stage. Scientists use lab test with animals (such as mice or monkeys) to learn whether a vaccine might work. Many potential vaccines don’t make it past this point. But if the tests are successful and the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) signs off, it’s on to clinical testing.
3. Clinical Development. This is a three-phase process of human testing. Phase 1 involves fewer than 100 people. Phase II includes several hundred people. Phase III involves thousands of people. About a third of the vaccines make it from phase 1 to the final approval.
4. Regulatory Review and Approval. The FDA and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) scientists go over data from the clinical trials and sign off on the info.
5. Manufacturing. The vaccine goes into production. The FDA inspects the factories in use and approves of drug labels.
6. Quality Control. Government agencies and scientists keep tabs on the drug-making process, as well as the people who receive the vaccine. The scientists and government agencies are there to make sure the vaccine keeps working safely.
