Coronavirus is spreading around the world, but there are still no vaccines to protect the body against the disease it causes, Covid-19. Medical researchers are working hard to change that. The virus spreads easily and the majority of the world’s population is still vulnerable to it. A vaccine would provide some protection by training people’s immune systems to fight the virus so they should not become sick.
Research is happening at incredible speed. About 80 groups around the world are researching vaccines and some are now entering clinical trials. A vaccine would normally take years, if not decades, to develop. Researchers hope to achieve the same amount of work in only a few months. Most experts think a vaccine is likely to become available by mid-2021, about 12-18 months after the new virus, known officially as Sars-CoV-2, first emerged. That would be a huge scientific feat and there are no guarantees it will work. Four coronaviruses already circulate in human beings. They cause common cold symptoms and we don’t have vaccines for any of them.
Multiple research groups have designed potential vaccines, however, there is much more work to do. 1. Trials need to show the vaccine is safe. It would not be useful if it caused more problems than the disease. 2. Clinical trials will also need to show the vaccine provokes an immune response that would protect people from getting sick. 3. A way of producing the vaccine on a huge scale must be developed for the billions of potential doses. 4. Medicines regulators must approve it before it can be given. 5. Finally, there will be a huge logistical challenge of actually inoculating most of the world’s population.
Lockdowns could cause this process to move slower. If fewer people are infected, it will take longer to know whether a vaccine works. The idea of giving people the vaccine and then deliberately infecting them would give quicker answers but is seen as extremely dangerous while there is no known treatment.