The race for the COVID-19 vaccine has become more intensified with consistent trials. But how efficacious it will prove is still have less probability. Some results like the Russian COVID vaccine may be laden with preoccupied hope, despite more to see for any new update of the COVID vaccine. More research and trials might extend its availability by January next year.
A physician-scientist and infectious disease specialist at the University of Virginia, when asked, that how they can be so sure for COVID-19 vaccine availability January 2021, expressed inability to predict, “still we don’t have it for HIV”
But, he gave 9 reasons to be optimistic about the delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine in the next 5 months.
1. The human’s immunity system wins COVID-19.
It is a fact that as many as 99% of all COVID-19 cases, the patient is recovered from infection and the virus is cleared from the body. People have a low level of virus in the body for 3 months after infection. So, these individuals are no longer to transmit infection 10 days after becoming sick.
As in HIV, the body fails to recover naturally through its immune system only because HIV attacks the immune cells of the body. HIV mutates at a very fast rate, therefore to track this virus isn’t possible and the vaccine is not being able to prepare until now. SARS-COV2, which causes coronavirus disease does not mutate HIV does.
2. Antibodies used in treatment attack the covering of the Corona Virus:
The work of the vaccine will be inducing the production of antibodies against the spike protein which is present on the surface of SARS-COV2.
The coronavirus has spike protein; these proteins help it to enter human cells to reproduce. Antibodies are produced by the human body are neutralizing the coronavirus by binding to spike protein.
Vaccines that are being in development in the laboratory are to increase anti-spike antibodies that block virus infection in labs.
The companies have made monoclonal antibodies which are anti-spikes in nature. These will recognize the spike protein. These will be in the clinical trial phase to test their ability in preventing the coronavirus infection.
Monoclonal antibodies if successfully pass the clinical trial, in the future, they will be used for treatment. A dose will be given to those who are exposed to this infection and giving time to the immune system to manufacture its antibodies to combat the pathogen.
3. Spike glycoprotein on coronavirus particle.
Coronavirus particle is a 3-D Spherical structure. Spike proteins are present all over its surface and therefore at multiple points, antibodies or vaccine will point will not be able to mutate further. It will be difficult for the SARS-COV2 virus particle to mutate at that point and hence one vaccine can stabilize and prevent the increase in infection.
And also, too many mutations to spike proteins will be alternate its structure and made it incapable of binding to ACE2 which is key to infect human cells.
4. Researchers are aware of vaccine side-effects and known how to avoid them.
A safe vaccine is the goal of researchers. One potential and obvious side effect of using a vaccine is anti-body dependent enhancement of infection. This occurs when antibodies don’t neutralize the virus but instead allow it to enter into cells via receptors intended for antibodies.
Researchers have found that immunizing with the spike proteins, high levels of antibodies produced. This reduces the risk of enhancement.
Second potential problem is that some vaccine induces allergic reactions. Like that was happened in the 1960s, where when people received a ‘Respiratory syncytial virus’ in the 1960s, lung inflammation which leads to difficulty in breathing was the effect of this.
5. Vaccines are developing all over the world.
Soon after Russia’s COVID vaccine, the string of trials has been seen. FurtheThe U.S. government is supporting the development of several vaccines via Operation Wrap Seed (OSW). The goal of OSW is to deliver fast and safe vaccines all over the world by January 2021. The mindset behind this goal is to avoid any inefficiency and insufficiency in distributing and developing a vaccine for COVID-19. Meanwhile, the peak of COVID may be coming to India. The country registered the highest number of COVID cases in a day.
6. Vaccine phasing through phase 1 and 2 trials.
Phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trial tests if a vaccine is safe and induces an immune response in the body. Vaccines that are on clinical trials are immunizing the vaccine candidates. Still, more COVID vaccine updates are needed.
By inducing the production of neutralizing anti spike antibodies that are two to four folds higher than those seen in people who had been recovered from COVID-19. Moderna, Oxford, and Chinese company CanSino have all demonstrated the safety of their vaccines in phase 1 and phase 2 trials.
7. A vaccine has successfully reached clinical phase 3rd trials.
A phase 3 clinical trial design to evaluate if the vaccine can prevent the infection of coronavirus and can control this pandemic.
The vaccine produced by Moderna and NIH and the vaccine from OXFORD- AstraZeneca begins phase 3rd trials in July. Vaccine mRNA-1273 co-developed by the national institute of allergy and infectious disease (NIAID) and Cambridge, Massachusetts based biotechnology Company Moderna, Inc.
The m-RNA1273 vaccine candidate will be tested approximately at 89 clinical research sites in the U.S. 24 of which are a part of the NIH coronavirus prevention network (CoVPN).
Operation wrap seed (OSW) is supporting a portfolio of the vaccine developed by NIH/ MODERNA candidate because if they give the test results then it will be available to all Americans in only 1-day.
8. Accelerating vaccine production and development.
Even researchers have demonstrated vaccine efficiency and safety, operation wrap seed (OWS) is ready for paying for the production of millions of doses of vaccine manufacturing at an industrial scale.
The advantage of this strategy is that once a vaccine is proven safe in phase 3rd trials, a stockpile of it will already exist and it can be distributed immediately without comprising full assessment go safety and efficiency.
This is a more prudent approach in comparison to the Russian COVID vaccine, which is vaccinating the public before it has tested to be completely safe and effective in phase 3.
9. Vaccine distributors are being contacted now.
CDC has already contracted Mc Kesson corp., the largest vaccine distributor in the U.S., to support the Operation Wrap Seed (OWS) team. McKesson is committed to supporting public health in the U.S. and around the world.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
