The Race to Develop a COVID Vaccine

Although three types of vaccines have already been approved, these vaccines were developed in a rush with limited information, causing many to be skeptical of the reliability and efficacy of these vaccines. The question of whether there will be a vaccine before the second wave of COVID-19 hits still remains.

Two vaccines have been developed and approved in China, along with a Russian vaccine, both being used in their respective countries as clinical trials. However, there has not been any confirmation that these vaccines are effective, as they were rushed during the clinical trials.

There are dozens of other vaccines currently at different phases of development. There are 5 phases: preclinical, clinical phase 1, phase 2, phase 3, and approved. In the preclinical phase, vaccines are developed and tested on animals; phase 1 vaccines are tested on a very population sample of people to test for safety; phase 2 vaccines are tested on a couple hundreds of people with other variables such as age taken into account to monitor side effects; phase 3 vaccines are tested on a demographic of thousands of people and if the test results come back and show the vaccine is effective, the vaccine is approved for use.

According to The Washington Post, the FDA has allowed for a COVID vaccine with a 50% immunization rate to be considered effective, and the first vaccine to achieve that 50% rate will be authorized for use in the U.S.

Hundreds of companies, both private and government-run, around the world are racing to develop an effective vaccine before the year ends. According to The New York Times, there are 38 vaccines in clinical trials and at least 98 vaccines in the preclinical phase.

Junior Bobo L. says that she “doesn’t believe that there will be an effective vaccine until at least next year” and she thinks that the best way to prevent the spread of COVID until a vaccine is developed is to “quarantine and take other measures such as wearing masks and disinfecting frequently.”

The reason for such a rush is because experts predict that there will be a second wave, which is a very loose-fitting term, as some countries are still technically not out of their first wave. Experts believe that in Autumn, there will be a resurgence of COVID-19, as people are getting tired of social distancing and lockdown procedures.

Moreover, hospitals have more to worry about more than just a resurgence in COVID cases, with the predicted resurgence of COVID being at the same time as the seasonal flu, hospitals could become overwhelmed with patients.

When asked about a possible resurgence of COVID-19, Junior Alex K. said, “I’m currently in South Korea and there was a huge spike in cases over the past month, I haven’t gone outside in 3 weeks, but things are settling down now as social distancing laws get stricter.” 

Hopefully, a vaccine is right around the corner, but until then, we should stay safe and respect social distancing laws.