A simple search on google and you will see the words COVID-19 Alert written there, its been months we have been fighting the virus with not much progress. Although the number of cases in certain countries have dropped in the last couple of days because of lockdown and quarantine but still We are not at the stage where the virus stops forever even though we have insane tech.
So, a simple yet confusing question arises.When will it end? heres what the TOI has to share.
Nations around the world have closed their borders and ordered a strict lockdown in order to avoid further pressure on the already overwhelmed medical care system. With more than 4.1 million cases globally and close to 283,876 fatalities, the COVID-19 graph continues to rise.
At the same time, scientists and researchers across the globe are racing against the time to develop a vaccine for the novel coronavirus. As of now, almost 100 research groups are working round the clock to develop a potential vaccine for COVID-19.
It is important to note that a vaccine fit for humans usually takes years to develop as it goes through a series of human trials to test its safety and efficiency. The World Health Organization is tracking the potential vaccines for COVID-19 in the clinical evaluation
Here’s taking a look at the four potential vaccines which are leading the race:
1. University of Oxford
The University of Oxford has developed a vaccine candidate ‘ChAdOx1 nCoV-19’ in under three months. The vaccine candidate uses a weakened strain of common cold virus (adenovirus) and is combined with the genetic material of the SARS-CoV-2 (the coronavirus causing COVID-19).
This will enable the body to identify the spike protein of the novel coronavirus. The vaccine candidate is now in a clinical trial phase-1 and healthy volunteers have already been injected to check its safety and efficiency.
2.Massachusetts-based Moderna vaccine
In the US, the Massachusetts-based biotech company Moderna is developing an RNA based vaccine in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). The vaccine candidate mRNA-1273 has already conducted phase 1 trials and is all set to begin phase 2 trials. The RNA vaccine works by entering the human cells and carries the molecular instructions to make the viral protein. Once, this viral protein is recognized by the body, the immune system of the body is triggered.
3.Beijing-based Sinovac Biotech
Chinese scientists are claiming to have successfully tested a potential vaccine for the novel coronavirus in monkeys. To conduct this experiment, the researchers injected the monkeys with the potential vaccine PiCoVacc which is made by Sinovac Biotech, a Chinese biopharmaceutical company. The monkeys were later exposed to novel coronavirus and it was found that those injected with a dose of the potential vaccine were largely protected from the virus. The vaccine is currently undergoing human clinical trials.
And so the list goes on....
Well its said that a vaccine will be available in the next 2 yrs so lets wait and watch what happens next
Article by:
Yash
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