How Fast can we get a vaccine ? - Views of Aryann

The new coronavirus which causes the disease SARS-COV-2 or COVID-19 has rendered our immune system inferior leaving millions of people infected and thousands dead. In times like this when a new pathogen appears the health organizations always try there best to create a vaccine so that people who are prone to catching the virus, like doctors and people who may die because of the virus are protected. The best way to solve that is a vaccine that creates widespread immunity with a low death toll. Many people may state snide and nasty comments towards the health organizations for not doing a good job or not being quick enough. But the fact is that they are doing the best they can and the sooner we accept this fact the better it is for us. A vaccine can be made in three different stages:

1. Research

2.Testing

3. Manufacturing

Research

In this stage, an exploratory research is done where scientists experiment with different ways to replicate or create a new vaccine. replicating a vaccine may also work, in 2009 scientists replicated the influenza vaccine to the H1N1 vaccine producing a widely available vaccine just 6 months after the epidemic. This may sound like the cure for everything but it is not this technique only works if the new pathogen is similar to a previous one. Therefore health authorities may make a vaccine like MMR. MMR is a vaccine for mumps, measles, and rubella. Since they all come from a similar species of virus the vaccine was easy to replicate. Once the basic research is done and a beta vaccine is made it is vetted and sent to a lab that enters the next stage.

Testing

In this stage, vaccines are tested for various fields like safety, efficacy, and side-effects. This is the longest stage as it has many sub-stages. Mainly animal testing and human testing. In the stages different vaccine attempts are tested on prime apes and when results are prominent humans. Currently as per the date:17th June we are entering human testing.

Manufacturing and Mass Producing

This stage is by far the easiest. In this stage, government authorities try to duplicate and spread the vaccine so that mass immunization happens.

Under regular circumstances, this takes about fifteen to twenty years but is quickly hurried during a pandemic. But don't get your hopes down the first testable COVID-19 the vaccine was made 42 days after the pandemic was declared.