Covid Vaccine- How close are we?

Covid Vaccine: Why did the need arise?

In December 2019, reports flocked out of central city in Wuhan, China that a new coronavirus is causing a cluster of pneumonia cases in the city. On March 11, 2020, WHO declared the coronavirus as a pandemic and since then things have changed drastically. The deadly virus has affected more than 188 countries around the globe and has taken a toll over human lives.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) has affected more than 11 million (as of 3 July, 2020) people around the world. According to the Worldometer data, more than 6 million have recovered, yet 524,581 have succumbed to the virus. Hence, researchers are pushing forward with their efforts to develop the treatments and vaccines to slow down the pandemic and lessen the disease’s impact, as soon as possible.

As the countries go into lockdown, various industries have been facing plethora of  challenges to continue serving customers and ensuring profits. The COVID-19 pandemic is much more than a health crisis and is affecting livelihoods and econ­omies at their core. While the impact of the pandemic varies from country to country, it has increase unemployment, poverty and inequalities at a global scale. The global economies are decreasing day by day and therefore, there is a need to scale up the research, so that we can get an answer to this unprecedented situation as soon as possible.

Top Affected Countries

The search for COVID- 19 vaccine began in January 2020 with the deciphering of the SARS-CoV-2 genome. The first vaccine human safety trials were started in March 2020, but the road ahead remains uncertain.

There are currently more than 140 projects around the world focused on the development of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Figure 1: Number of Covid vaccines under development in different phases

Types of Covid Vaccine Developed till Date

Figure 2: Types of Covid vaccine under development

Table 1: Covid 19 vaccine under clinical development stage

Latest Development in Covid Vaccine

1. DCGI gives approval for India’s first Covid-19 vaccine candidate for human clinical trials

• A prominent vaccine manufacturer Bharat Biotech, in collaboration with the National Institute of Virology (NIV), has been given permission by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) to commence the Phase I&II human clinical trials for India’s first indigenous vaccine candidate against COVID-19 ‘Covaxin’.
• The vaccine was developed and manufactured at the company’s BSL -III high containment facility at Genome Valley in Hyderabad.
• The human clinical trials will initiate across India in July, 2020. Results expected to be out by October 2020, following which further clinical trials will be conducted.

2. Biontech and Pfizer’s Coronavirus vaccines has shown potential in human trials

• Pfizer and BioNTech have announced positive preliminary results from the ongoing BNT162b1’s Phase I/II clinical trials, a potential COVID-19 vaccine.
• It is the most advanced among the four COVID-19 vaccine candidates being evaluated as part of ‘Pfizer and BioNTech’s BNT162 mRNA-based vaccine programme’.
• They revealed that the preliminary data demonstrated that BNT162b1 could be administered in a well-tolerated dose and it also generated dose-dependent immunogenicity,”
• These results, along with additional data i.e. preclinical and clinical data, is expected to aid in establishing a dose level and select among various other vaccine candidates to proceed to a larger, global Phase IIb/III trial planned for the coming month.

3. Oxford University- AstraZeneca vaccine leading the race

• The vaccine candidate, developed by Oxford University- AstraZeneca, has emerged as a frontrunner in the COVID-19 vaccine race.
• It has already started conducting phase III clinical trials of its AZD1222 vaccine candidate.
• The developers have signed a deal with Brazil at $127 million to locally produce the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in the country.

4. Inovio Pharmaceuticals Corona Virus vaccine status

• Inovio Pharmaceuticals, a US based company, part of the Operation Warp Speed program, recently announced that their experimental Covid-19 vaccine had shown significant results in preliminary clinical trials.
• The firm revealed that INO-4800, a DNA vaccine, triggered an immune response in 94% volunteers who successfully completed the phase 1 clinical trial.
• It now plans to start a combined Phase 2/3 trial to assess the vaccine’s efficacy.

5. Cansino Biologics Corona virus approved for limited use

• The vaccine candidate, developed by Cansino Biologics, has been approved for China’s military use after human trials proved it was safe and somewhat efficient.
• An approval to use the vaccine for the military purpose was given by Central Military Commission of China, on June 25 for an year period.
• The Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials revealed that the candidate had the potential to prevent disease caused by coronavirus.

6. Moderna Corona virus vaccine

• Moderna, an American biotech company, which has recently begun its phase II trials for their vaccine candidate, mRNA-1273, has collaborated with Catalent Inc to manufacture 100 million doses of the vaccine. The process will commence in the third quarter of 2020.
• Final stage clinical trials of the Moderna vaccine are all set to start in July, with tests \ to be conducted on 30,000 people.

Covid Vaccine Tracker

Table 2: Vaccines under pre-clinical development

Conclusion

• We all are aware that the COVID-19pandemic has caused a huge amount of financial and social burden.
• The vaccine research have accelerated, but most of it Is still in infancy and will require a lot more time and funds to translate into approved treatment of SARS Cov 2 virus.
• However, there is still a hope and a vision to fight against this pandemic as soon as possible. And, in fact, across the world countries have united to fight this challenge as soon as possible.
• As a citizen, our obligation is to abide to all official advisories, wear masks, practice social distancing and not believe in myths.

References 

• https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/how-soon-can-we-have-a-covid-19-vaccine/articleshow/76419181.cms
• https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/science/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker.html
• https://www.raps.org/news-and-articles/news-articles/2020/3/covid-19-vaccine-tracker
• https://www.businesstoday.in/latest/trends/coronavirus-vaccine-update-indias-first-vaccine-candidate-covaxin-to-begin-human-trials-in-july/story/408468.html
• https://www.clinicaltrialsarena.com/news/pfizer-biontech-vaccine-data/
• https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/science/pfizer-biontech-experimental-covid-19-vaccine-shows-promise-in-early-trial-study/article31969232.ece
• https://indianexpress.com/article/coronavirus/coronavirus-covid-19-vaccine-latest-updates-oxford-astrazeneca-inovio-pfizer-bharat-biotech-6486286/
• https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/coronavirus-vaccine-update-latest-covid-19-news-oxford-biontech-pfizer-remdesivir/story/408684.html
• https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/draft-landscape-of-covid-19-candidate-vaccines
• https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health-news/coronavirus-vaccine-update-covid-19-vaccine-candidates-with-early-human-trial-data/articleshow/76737812.cms
• https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2020/jul/02/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker-how-close-are-we-to-a-vaccine