If scientists are successful or when they manage to make a vaccine against Coronavirus, there will not be enough to overcome it.
Research labs and drug companies are rewriting the regulation on the time it takes to develop, test, and manufacture an effective vaccine.
Unprecedented steps are being taken to ensure that the vaccine is deployed globally. But there is concern that the richest countries may win the race to get one, at the expense of the most vulnerable.
So who gets it first, how much will it cost, and in the event of a global crisis, how do we make sure no one is left behind?
Vaccines to control infectious diseases often take years to develop, test, and administer. Until then, your success is not guaranteed.
To date, a human infectious disease, smallpox, has been completely eliminated and has taken 200 years.
The rest, from polio to tetanus, measles, mumps and tuberculosis, live with or without vaccines.
Research labs and drug companies are rewriting the regulation on the time it takes to develop, test, and manufacture an effective vaccine.
Unprecedented steps are being taken to ensure that the vaccine is deployed globally. But there is concern that the richest countries may win the race to get one, at the expense of the most vulnerable.
So who gets it first, how much will it cost, and in the event of a global crisis, how do we make sure no one is left behind?
Vaccines to control infectious diseases often take years to develop, test, and administer. Until then, your success is not guaranteed.
To date, a human infectious disease, smallpox, has been completely eliminated and has taken 200 years.
The rest, from polio to tetanus, measles, mumps and tuberculosis, live with or without vaccines.
When should we expect the coronavirus vaccine?
Trials are already underway with thousands of people to find a vaccine that can protect against Covid-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus.
The process that normally takes five to ten years, from investigation to delivery, is reduced to months. Meanwhile, manufacturing is expanding, as investors and manufacturers risk billions of dollars to get ready to produce an effective vaccine.
Russia says trials with the Sputnik-V vaccine have shown signs of an immune response in patients and mass vaccination will begin in October. China says it has developed a successful vaccine that is available to its military personnel. But concerns have been raised about the speed with which both vaccines were produced.
None are included in the WHO list of vaccines that have reached Phase III clinical trials, the phase that includes the most prevalent tests in humans.
Some of these top candidates hope to have their vaccine approved by the end of the year, although the World Health Organization has said it does not expect to see large-scale vaccines against Covid-19 until mid-2021.
British pharmaceutical manufacturer AstraZeneca, licensed for the vaccine from the University of Oxford, is increasing its global manufacturing capacity and has agreed to supply 100 million doses in the UK alone and possibly two billion doses globally, if you have success. Clinical trials were stopped this week after a participant suspected an adverse reaction in the UK.
Pfizer and BioNTech, which say they have invested more than $ 1 billion in their Covid-19 program to develop an mRNA vaccine, hope to be ready to get some kind of regulatory approval starting in October this year.
If approved, that would mean manufacturing up to 100 million doses by the end of 2020 and possibly more than 1.3 billion doses by the end of 2021.
There are 20 other pharmaceutical companies that are conducting clinical trials.
Not all will be successful; generally only about 10% of vaccine trials are successful. The hope is that the global focus, new alliances, and a common goal increase the odds this time.
But even if one of these vaccines works, the immediate deficiency is clear.
The process that normally takes five to ten years, from investigation to delivery, is reduced to months. Meanwhile, manufacturing is expanding, as investors and manufacturers risk billions of dollars to get ready to produce an effective vaccine.
Russia says trials with the Sputnik-V vaccine have shown signs of an immune response in patients and mass vaccination will begin in October. China says it has developed a successful vaccine that is available to its military personnel. But concerns have been raised about the speed with which both vaccines were produced.
None are included in the WHO list of vaccines that have reached Phase III clinical trials, the phase that includes the most prevalent tests in humans.
Some of these top candidates hope to have their vaccine approved by the end of the year, although the World Health Organization has said it does not expect to see large-scale vaccines against Covid-19 until mid-2021.
British pharmaceutical manufacturer AstraZeneca, licensed for the vaccine from the University of Oxford, is increasing its global manufacturing capacity and has agreed to supply 100 million doses in the UK alone and possibly two billion doses globally, if you have success. Clinical trials were stopped this week after a participant suspected an adverse reaction in the UK.
Pfizer and BioNTech, which say they have invested more than $ 1 billion in their Covid-19 program to develop an mRNA vaccine, hope to be ready to get some kind of regulatory approval starting in October this year.
If approved, that would mean manufacturing up to 100 million doses by the end of 2020 and possibly more than 1.3 billion doses by the end of 2021.
There are 20 other pharmaceutical companies that are conducting clinical trials.
Not all will be successful; generally only about 10% of vaccine trials are successful. The hope is that the global focus, new alliances, and a common goal increase the odds this time.
But even if one of these vaccines works, the immediate deficiency is clear.
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