How far off is a COVID-19 vaccine?

As COVID-19 impacts countries around the world, we ask – will there be a viable vaccine created soon?
Since COVID-19 first became a notable virus, many experts around the world began working on their own vaccineSince COVID-19 first became a notable virus, many experts around the world began working on their own vaccine
Since COVID-19 first became a notable virus, many experts around the world began working on their own vaccine

Back in 2019, no one could have ever predicted that COVID-19 would have had such a large impact on the world. Countries have gone on lockdown; the travel industry has been massively affected and many businesses might have closed their doors for good. Of course, as we start to understand COVID-19 more, we can reduce the death rate and potentially find a vaccine. While many people believe that a vaccine is not possible, we are hopeful that one is on the horizon.

How Are Vaccines Created?

If you are not familiar with how vaccines are created, this is not a surprise. Often, a lot of the testing goes on behind the scenes and a lot of the vaccines that we used today were developed many years ago. There are multiple stages involved in the creation of a vaccine and it takes a long time.

The first stage is the pre-clinical stage, and this involves vaccines that are not being tested yet in human trials. This is a long process as scientists won’t want to harm any humans. Then, phase one begins and vaccines will be tested out in a small-scale safety stage. After this, vaccines will be expanded into safety trials. Once that is completed, you can expect vaccines to be tested in a large-scale efficiency trial. Finally, the vaccine will be approved for use by the general public.

Who Is Working on a Vaccine?

Since COVID-19 first became a notable virus, many experts around the world began working on their own vaccine. Many countries are working together to speed up the process, but others are focusing on their own work. As of August, there were more than 170 candidate vaccines that were being tracked by the World Health Organisation. This includes one by Russian scientists and others in the USA.

A further candidate is one created by Harvard Medical School scientists which is funded by the Tej Kohli Foundation. This vaccine uses a Trojan horse to deliver a genetic sequence of COVID-19 and is proving to be a viable option. Of course, this is just one of many strong candidates.

Will We Find One?

While many people believe that these vaccines are a long way from success, there is a lot of evidence to support the fact that they could become available to the public sooner rather than later. Scientists around the world are working day and night to make sure that this global health crisis is eradicated as quickly as possible.