Coronavirus Vaccination: What do we know?

With the massive outbreak of COVID19 affecting every country and continent, the entire world is desperately waiting for a ray of hope.

Some of the extremely essential steps that will help in curbing down the effects of the Coronavirus involve the development of immunity, a drug that will help in containing the disease and lastly a vaccine.

The successful development of vaccination is right now of utmost importance because it will help in providing immunity against the virus. Lesser resources will be required in order to prevent disease and the healthcare workers would finally be able to breathe a little freely. In the hunt for developing a successful vaccine for coronavirus, many candidates have emerged in as front runners. 

1. The place where the entire havoc first took place, China has recently showcased positive results on animal trial results for the Coronavirus vaccine. Its is said that their trials have been successfully conducted on monkeys. The PiCoVacc vaccine has been developed by Beijing-based Sinovac Biotech. Researchers there have used a method in which they prevent the virus from infecting life forms. The vaccine was injected into monkeys who were later exposed to SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID 19 three weeks later. It was stated that the vaccine triggered the immune response to produce the antibodies against the novel coronavirus.According to a recent update, the vaccine has managed to successfully commence the phase 1 trial and the first dosing of the vaccine for the volunteers. The company had earlier tested the two different doses of its potential vaccine into eight monkeys. Four of the monkeys were given a high dosage of the vaccine and the rest were given a low dosage. The macaque monkeys that received high dosage were said to be majorly protected against the SARS-CoV-2 infection. They also reported no signs of any virus in their lungs. Those who were given a low dosage showed an increased viral load in their bodies.

2. A few months ago one of the most majorly hit nations of the world, Italy declared that the country’s researchers have successfully managed to develop a potential vaccination that can successfully put an end to this global pandemic. Luigi Aurisicchio, CEO of Takis has stated that for the first time a coronavirus candidate vaccine developed by them was able to neutralise the virus in human cells. The vaccination is in one of the most advanced stages of testing in the entire country of Italy. They were said to be preparing for human tests that were expected to be conducted after the summer months. The testing had begun at Rome’s Spallanzani Hospital. Researchers stated that the Takis firm had successfully managed to generate antibodies in mice and they are hoping that it will work on humans too. They even further stated that they were the first researchers in the world that showcased the neutralisation of coronavirus by a vaccine.Last month it was reported that the Takis, founded by a group of biologists and researchers at the R&D arm of pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co, will go ahead and produce doses for the first clinical trials that will start in autumn. The first results are expected to be launched by March next year.

3. A few months ago the Defence Minister of Israel, Naftali Bennett stated that the Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR) has developed an antibody to neutralise the COVID-19 virus. They had claimed that the vaccine can successfully attack the virus within the bodies of the infected and further neutralise it. The Israel Institute for Biological Research had already begun testing the antibody on rodents. The second research team, MigVax had also completed its first phase of developing the COVID-19 vaccine. They even successfully attained a $12 million investment to develop the vaccine. They planned to set up the first vaccine production facility in the small southern town of Yeruham in Israel. A model had been further shared that stated that the facility in Yeruham would manufacture tens of millions of vaccine units, of various types, which will help ensure the country self-sufficiency even in times of pandemics.According to latest reports, the Israel Institute for Biological Research and the Weizmann Institute of Science got a listing for their joint work on vaccine design. The team is one of the 149 potential vaccine candidates. It has been revealed that the vaccine was tested on hamsters. A single dose of it was able to protect hamsters against SARS-CoV-2. The hamsters did not lose much body weight and had much healthier lungs too.

4. One of the topmost candidates for the Coronavirus vaccine includes the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 that started preparing for a vaccine as soon as the outbreak got hold of every nook and corner. The vaccination that has been developed involves the weakened version of chimpanzee adenovirus as a vector that causes the common cold. It has been infused with the genetic material of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein that alerts the immune system to attack the virus. A few months back it entered the first phase trials.The University of Oxford and AstraZeneca Plc.’s experimental vaccine is the first to enter the final stages of the clinical trial. The vaccine is also being trialled in South Africa and Brazil, with Serum Institute of India (SII) investing $100 million to mass-produce one billion doses for India and other low-and-middle-income countries. According to the latest updates, the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA) approved the inclusion of Brazil in the clinical trials on 2nd June. The Volunteers in Brazil have received the trial vaccine against COVID-19 as part of Latin America’s first phase 3 COVID-19 clinical trial. The trial had begun on the 20th of June. It has around 5,000 volunteers across the country. If the trial is successful, the Oxford Vaccine Group will launch the Covid-19 vaccine by the end of this year. This will make it the fastest vaccine to progress from the lab to getting regulatory approval for use.

5. The Massachusetts-based biotech company Moderna is among the other most prominent candidates for the Coronavirus vaccination. The company follows an approach where it injects the specially designed messenger RNA (genetic material) that produces viral protein or antigen. The antigen elicits the immune system and helps the body in defending itself from the Coronavirus. A few months back the company surpassed the phase 1 trials with flying colours. It even received approval from the States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to begin the next phase of testing. The vaccine is easy to manufacture, but however, could be expensive. Therefore it is expected that the supplies will be tightly controlled by the US government. Moderna has also managed to raise $483 million in collaboration with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) of the US government.Recently it has revealed that the vaccine managed to get immune responses in all of the volunteers who received it in a Phase 1 study. The vaccine is said to have shown an immune response with mild side effects. It is said to enter the final stage of human trials for its Covid-19 vaccine on July 27th. The Phase 3 trial will involve around thirty thousand participants in the US. The half of them will receive the vaccine at 100 microgram dose levels, and the other half a placebo. 

6. One of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, Pfizer and the Germany based immunotherapy company Biopharmaceutical New Technologies or BioNTech have partnered together. They have been working on four possible vaccines. Each of the vaccines represents a different combination of messenger RNA method and target antigen. A few months back Pfizer has already tested its vaccine on some participants in the United States for its phase-1 and phase-2 clinical trial for the BNT162 vaccine program. It further decided to enrol up to 360 healthy subjects into two age divisions of 18-55 year and 65-85 years. Vaccines were then delivered to candidates for initial human testing in the United States. Trials in Germany have also begun. It then also decided to not wait for any kind of approval and start manufacturing vaccine doses, so by the year 2021, there will be vaccinations for millions of people around the world. 

   Just a day ago, Pfizer and German mRNA partner BioNTech managed to attain an FDA fast track label to start the late-stage of the COVID-19 vaccine. The phase 2b/3 trial is estimated to start later this months. They are also anticipating enrolling up to 30,000 subjects. The partners are looking to manufacture up to 100 million doses by the end of 2020. They are also trying to produce more than 1.2 billion doses by the end of 2021.

7. Two vaccine candidates from India soon will also enter human trials this month. The Indian Council of Medical Research has said that more than 1,000 volunteers will be enrolled for the process on a fast-track basis.Both Indian vaccine candidates, Bharat Biotech and Serum Institute of India have undergone successful toxicity studies in rats, mice, and rabbits and whose report has been shared with the Drugs Controller General of India too for which they have also got the clearance to start human trials from July.Since India produces 60% of the vaccines supplied in the world it is said to be an important player in the vaccine supply of the world.

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