As the Coronavirus spreads across the globe, the need for a safe and effective vaccine is indisputable.
Realistically, immunity to the virus can be acquired in 2 ways – from a vaccine or an infection. Most people are inclined towards the former to protect themselves from the severe and potentially long-lasting effects that the disease can cause.
To combat the adverse effects of the virus, researchers are working on developing a vaccine for the same. However, developing one for COVID 19 has proved to be complex; but why?
A few of the challenges are:-
1) Safety of Vaccine. The vaccines that have been tested so far on animals have seen an improvement in survival but hasn’t prevented the disease, as such while a few even caused complication like lung damage so any vaccine that is introduced will have to undergo trials and checks to endure that it is safe.
2) Long-term protection. Relapse of the COVID 19 infection is possible, although rare, an alternative solution is required so that the vaccine can prevent people for prolonged periods of time and isn’t just a temporary relief.
3) Vaccine development itself is a time-consuming project. It demands decades and large funds, often costing more than 500 million dollars to produce a licensed product and is especially complex for a novel virus-like SARS CoV-2 that is so poorly understood.
4) In recent times, there has been great difficulty in conducting clinical trials because of the location.
5) Manufacturing and distribution challenges. Even after a vaccine is successfully developed, the challenge doesn’t stop there. Who gets the first sample? Who will bear the expenses? It is unfair if countries aren’t able to get access to these vaccines simply because of costs.
Things look quite uncertain so far but pharmaceutical companies in countries like Russia, UK, and the US are working on developing safe and effective vaccines that can be dispatched for us to progress from these trying times.
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