COVID-19 turned out to be an economic disaster. The necessary social measures required to curb the outbreak killed global tourism and demolished millions of jobs. Migrant workers were among the worst affected. Overseas workers send money online to support their families back home.
This is often their only source of income. The economic effects of the crisis were devastating for millions of migrants and their families. With the magnitude of damage COVID-19 has caused there is a global outcry for a viable vaccine. Many countries are working toward this goal, some with multinational collaboration. While many of these efforts are still in the early stages, some seem to be close to a breakthrough.
Vaccines
The WHO tells us that vaccines work by training the body’s immune system to recognize and fight off infections. Every vaccine targets a specific pathogen (virus or bacteria) which it is designed to fight. Exposure to disease-causing germs does not cause illness if the body is immunized. The vaccine makes the body ready to destroy the infection. Immunization prevents 2-3 million deaths annually from diseases like diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, influenza, and measles. There are vaccines for 20+ life threatening diseases.
The WHO is working with scientists, business, and global health organizations through the
Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator. The common goal is to speed-up response to the pandemic. There have been more than 100 COVID vaccine candidates. When a safe and effective vaccine is synthesized COVAX will facilitate global distribution and equitable access.
COVAX includes the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) and Coalition for
Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). It is led by the WHO. COVAX will prioritize those most at risk.
ACT Accelerator
The collaboration brings together governments, scientists, businesses, civil society,
philanthropists, and global health organizations. These include the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation, CEPI, FIND, GAVI, The Global Fund, Unitaid, Wellcome Trust, the WHO, and the
World Bank. The goals of ACT Accelerator are supported by 4 pillars, namely diagnostics,
treatment, vaccines, and health system strengthening.
COVAX
COVAX was launched in April 2020 by the WHO, the European Commission, and France in
response to the pandemic. It is coordinated by GAVI, a public-private partnership that helps vaccinate half the world’s children against deadly diseases. CEPI is an innovative partnership between public, private, philanthropic, and civil organizations, and the WHO. It acts as a platform to support the research, development, and manufacturing of a wide range of COVID-19 vaccine candidates. All participating countries will have equal access to the vaccines once they are developed.
Trial phases
Once a candidate vaccine makes it to human clinical trials, it must go through some phases
before final approval. Phase 1 trials test a small number of people to determine the vaccine’s safety, dosages, and any potential side effects. Phase 2 trials further explore safety and the vaccine’s efficacy in larger groups. The final phase 3 involves thousands or tens of thousands of people. This phase is meant to assess the effectiveness of a vaccine and identify any rare side effects which only manifest in large groups.
Following various stages of development on more than 100 vaccine candidates the WHO has listed the following to have reached the final stage of trials:
Moderna – mRNA
The RNA vaccine is being developed by Moderna in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, with
funding from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID). It is designed to induce antibodies against a portion of the coronavirus ‘spike’ protein. The vaccine has been tested in people of various ages. Its phase 3 trial started in July and involves 30,000 people from across the US. The trial is scheduled to end by October 2022. If the results are promising the mRNA vaccine may get an early approval.
Sinovac- Inactivated Vaccine
This is the Chinese candidate vaccine being developed by Sinovac Biotech. It uses an inactivated form of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to try and induce immunity. It was tested on rhesus macaques with promising results. The vaccine is currently nearing the end of phase 3 trials involving 9,000 volunteers in Brazil and Indonesia. The approval status of the vaccine will be known at the end of October 2020.
Gamaleya Research Institute- Viral Vector Vaccine
The research institute in Russia launched a phase 1 trial on the non-replicating viral vector
vaccine in mid June. It was followed by a phase 3 trial involving more than 2,000 people in
Russia, Latin America, and the Middle East. In August Russia announced a regulatory approval for the vaccine. Further testing continues.
ChAdOx1 Vaccine
The vaccine is being developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca. Phase 3 clinical trials are currently going on, involving more than 10,000 volunteers from across the UK. These include children and seniors. The vaccine is simultaneously being tested in Brazil, the US, and South Africa. With support from CEPI it aims to manufacture 300 million doses. Its approval status will be known by the end of this year.
