Understanding The COVID-19 Vaccine

By: Nivrithi Kuttuva

With the coronavirus pandemic escalating and so many lives being impacted, there is one thing that most people are wondering: how long will it be until a vaccine is developed? This is a very logical and practical question to ask considering that past pandemics have mellowed down drastically once a vaccine was released. There are a multitude of factors and challenges involved with vaccine development that make estimating the amount of time to be as unpredictable as the virus itself. However, learning about the process of creating a vaccine for worldwide use and staying current with the vaccine progress can definitely ease some uncertain or anxious feelings regarding the virus.

In order to truly understand the complexity of developing a vaccine, it is important to learn about the types of vaccines and how each one is created. Put in simple terms, vaccines trigger an antibody-production response in the immune system. This will effectively enable the body to be able to fight off a specific disease if they ever encounter it because they will already have the specific proteins that help the body fight off infections. The first type of vaccine is one that weakens the virus. This causes the virus to not be able to reproduce effectively therefore hindering its ability to survive in the body long enough - however, they are still able to produce “memory B-cells” to fight off the disease if a person is infected with it in the future. The advantage here is that the vaccine results are typically effective for the rest of someone’s life, but a drawback is that it could be harmful to those with compromised immune systems. Another type of vaccine is made by inactivating the virus. This method seeks to kill the virus and then it is injected into the body, so it is safe to be administered to those with weaker immune systems as well. Lastly, another vaccine uses only one part of the virus. This is done by identifying and isolating the one part of the virus that the body is easily able to create an immunity response to. For example, if a specific protein on the surface of a virus can easily be fought by the body, then only this would likely be included in the vaccine. All of these vaccines aim to stimulate the body’s immune system to fight off the disease when they are injected. After a specific type of vaccine is developed, the antigens are purified through various processes and may be strengthened through the addition of stabilizers or an adjuvant, which enhances the immune response. Finally, all of the vaccine ingredients are combined, packaged into syringes, and labeled for distribution.

The idea of simply producing a vaccine and distributing it to the entire world is not as easily attainable as it may sound. There is a long process of vaccine trials prior to its distribution to determine if they are indeed successful on a statistically significant level. Various stages exist to provide the most safe and reliable results. In the preclinical stage of testing, the vaccine is given to animals to determine if there is an immune response. In Phase 1, a small group of people are given the vaccine to find out if it’s safe and discover more about the immune response. In Phase 2, the vaccine is given to hundreds of people so that researchers can learn about how safe it is and the right dosage. In Phase 3, the vaccine is given to thousands of people to confirm its safety and determine side effects while incorporating a placebo group. After the vaccine proves to be successful during human clinical trials and both the FDA and CDC approve, then the manufacturing and quality control of the vaccine can occur.

Currently, according to the World Health Organization, over 100 possible COVID-19 vaccines are in the process of development and trials. Additionally, around 70 countries have shown interest in joining the COVAX Facility, which is an organization whose purpose is to “guarantee rapid, fair and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for every country in the world, rich and poor, to make rapid progress towards slowing the pandemic,” according to the World Health Organization. Many different institutions around the world have been working to develop a vaccine and are making progress. For instance, the University of Melbourne and Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, The University of Oxford, and Moderna are all in Phase 2 of vaccine development. On July 26, 2020, Moderna, an American biotechnology company, will conduct a 30,000 person study to determine if their vaccine is truly effective. In their trials that have already occurred, volunteers developed neutralizing antibodies in their bloodstream at similar levels of what COVID-19 survivors had. No serious side effects were reported, however most participants did have flu-like symptoms similar to the effects of other vaccines. Researchers estimate that if everything goes smoothly, a COVID-19 vaccine could be available anywhere from 12-18 months.

The possible vaccine developments provide great hope for the development of the COVID-19 vaccine. The successful vaccine would drastically slow down the spread of COVID-19 and help people fight off the virus effectively with their own antibodies. Because It will take many months for a vaccine to finally be ready for mass distribution, it is crucial that people follow social distancing measures and wear masks to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the meantime. Everyone has undeniably faced or is facing some complications due to the pandemic. However, amid the uncertainty and unpredictability of the current nature of the virus, hope remains for an effective vaccine to be developed and for the world to return back to normal.

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Understanding The COVID-19 Vaccine

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