COVID-19

Covid-19 has been the most challenging event that has ever happened in the world. The countries and governments have implemented longer quarantines, public restrictions, and rules to avoid the spread of the virus. Moreover, there are no places in the world that have not been impacted for the coronavirus. Wearing masks, washing hands frequently, practicing social distancing, and staying at home as much as possible are the current solutions to prevent the spread of coronavirus. However, these solutions are temporary until an effective vaccine is found. Developing a vaccine is a complex process that can take years of research, pre-clinical trials and testing, clinical trials, massive manufacturing, and distribution. Nowadays, all the expectations are in the development, effectiveness and quick distribution between the population of developed and under-develop countries.

Edward Jenner was the pioneer in vaccine development, because in 1796 he used material from cowpox to provide protection against smallpox. The material was extracted from the cows and because cows in Latin are vacca, this is the origin of the word vaccine. There is evidence that China and Africa around 1000 AC used smallpox inoculation to protect against the sickness. In 1885, Louis Pasteur developed a rabies vaccine. In 1930, more vaccines were produced such as diphtheria, cholera, tetanus, and tuberculosis. Nowadays, there are a wide range of companies that work for vaccine research and development using advanced techniques such as growing viruses in the lab and DNA analysis.

The race to have the first effective Covid-19 vaccine is critical for humanity. Vaccines development requires years of research and testing and involves three rigorous phases before the massive distribution. Currently, there are 37 vaccines in clinical trials on humans, and at least 91 pre-clinical vaccines are under investigation in animals. The recent update published on Sept 8 said that Sanofi vaccine moved to a phase1, Russian Gamalaya vaccine moved to phase E3 testing, China approved a Sinovac vaccine for limited use. AstraZeneca halted global trials because one of the participants presented a serious and unexpected adverse reaction.

In summary, the new Coronavirus is still here and it will be here for a while. The hope is that the pandemic ends at some point. Whether herd immunity might slow the spread of the virus or the research community develops an effective vaccine that can be distributed around the world with a low cost, is still to be determined.