As we all are fighting against the global pandemic, there is an increasing concern about the availability of the Covid-19 vaccine. Many countries are trying to get the vaccine on a global level. This year, we all have seen a situation that we never thought of. The lockdown has paused everything and trapped everyone in their homes.
This global pandemic affected everyone directly, some people lost their job, many people lost their lives, some companies were shut down, many people get depressed, and countries’ economies are on the edge to collapse. There are many effects, we all have seen or experienced during this global pandemic.
Other than the negative impact, there are many people who felt a positive effect on their lives too. Some people have discovered new talents, some have polished themselves and many people spend a well versed time with their family.
After the lockdown process, everything is getting back to normal, but, is it really going back to square one? If we look around and try to figure out the difference between the normal day prior to the pandemic and the new normal today! We can easily draw a line between them. Of course, people are missing the time when they could roam freely with the fear of the virus spread. But this will definitely take time.
The only hope for people to get back to the normal zone is the vaccination of the virus. For a very long time, many companies and institutions were trying hard to find some vaccine that can control the spread in a very effective way. Several people have lost their lives because of the virus. So, it is highly important to make a vaccine that can save a life.
Vaccines are basically the training dosage of the body. The vaccine prepares and trains the body to recognize and fight against illness-causing viruses and bacteria. A vaccine aimed to target a certain virus and bacteria. The vaccines are like the mock drill, in which the body prepares itself to fight against certain viruses and bacteria and improve the immune system of the person.
Under the vaccination process, the body develops a certain defensive nature against any virus or bacteria. Afterward, whenever the body is exposed to the same virus or bacteria, the body alerts the system and destroys them immediately.
If we talk about the Covid-19 vaccine, there are 50+ vaccine developer candidates as per the WHO records. There are many countries that are developing the covid-19 vaccine. Many pharmaceutical companies, medical institutions, scientists, and doctors are developing vaccines that have reached their respective phases and continuing the trail for getting more assurance regarding the vaccine.
Although, there are many sources that are predicting the vaccination process will begin from January. But the wait for the vaccine is still not over. WHO is also collaborating with some scientists, doctors, and global health organizations to boost up the vaccine developing program.
During the lockdown, the number of users increased that period of time. Many people consume all the information passively from the social media platform and some sharp minds distort the information to mislead people and create panic among the population.
All social media users must understand their responsibility and check the credibility of the information before sharing it. The big social media platforms like Twitter have rolled out a policy to stop the spread of fake news related to the Covid-19 pandemic recently. But before Twitter, Facebook and YouTube have restricted and deleted the information. Which misleads people and creates panic through the platform.
Here we are listing the top 5 vaccine developers with their details. We will update you about the much-awaited thing of the year, which is the Covid-19 vaccine:
The BNT162b2 is an mRNA-based vaccine. It is developed by the BioNTech and Pfizer. Fosun Pharma Company in China has licensed the BNT162b2 vaccine. The vaccine is injected as an intramuscular injection in two doses at the interval of 21 days. BNT162b2 develop an immune response against SARS-CoV-2, by encoding a changed form of the full spike protein of the virus.
A crucial Phase 2/3 trial of more than 43,000 healthy participants from all over the world published in NEJM. Phase 3 data of 43,448 participants published in NEJM reported BNT162b2 was 95% effective. The results of Phase 1 published in NEJM show similar immunogenicity between BNT162b2 and another BNT162 variant. They are developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, but there were some adverse effects seen with BNT162b2. The companies also estimated 50 million doses that will be available in 2020 and 1.3 billion available in 2021.
CoronaVac is a formalin-inactivated and alum-adjuvanted vaccine made by the Chinese biotechnology company, Sinovac Biotech. The vaccine is given in two doses at an interval of 14 days. It is estimated to manufacture up to 300 million doses of CoronaVac per year.
There were many large international trials including Phase 3 trials with the Instituto Butantan in Brazil, Turkey, and Indonesia. The trial was conducted by up to 9,000 patients in the health industry. Earlier, Sinovac introduced a Phase 1/2 trial of 743 healthy volunteers and a Phase 1 trial of 143 participants, and a Phase 2 trial of 600 participants. There was no serious effect reported in the early phase. But the trial was temporarily suspended due to a participant’s death but after some time, they resumed the process.
Sputnik V is a non-replicating viral vector vaccine. The Gamaleya Research Institute in Russia and the Health Ministry of the Russian Federation are evaluating Sputnik V, which is in the phase III trial in Russia and internationally too.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) reported that the vaccine was 91.4% effective in interim trial results based on 22,714 participants, but the results are not yet been peer-reviewed. The results from the two small Phase 1/2 trials mentioned in The Lancet appear to indicate that the vaccine has a good safety profile. It has induced a strong and cellular immune response in participants. The head of the RDIF revealed that about 2 million people would be given vaccinations from Russian vaccines, but they did not clarify which vaccines they are talking about in his statement.
It is an inactivated COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by Sinopharm. It is the second inactivated COVID-19 vaccine by Sinopharm with the Beijing Institute of Biological Products.
BBIBP-CorV, in the present state, is being evaluated in Phase 2 and Phase 3 trials in China as well as a Phase 3 trial in Argentina. This vaccine was safe and tolerated at all dose levels and all participants showed a humoral response to the vaccine at 42 days after the vaccination. On 9 December, the UAE announced that the vaccine was 86% effective. Sinopharm can provide up to 2.2 million vaccine doses, according to reporting from Quartz.
EpiVacCorona is a peptide vaccine for COVID-19 that is developed in Russia by The Federal Budgetary Research Institution State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology.
A Phase 1/2 trial in Russia is still active, but it is not recruiting that evaluates the effectiveness of the vaccine up to 100 participants. In September, clinical trials of the EpiVacCorona have been completed in July, according to reporting from Reuters. The head of the RDIF specified that about 2 million people will receive vaccinations from Russian vaccines, but they did not clarify which vaccines they are talking about in his statement.
The developers of Covid-19 vaccines have reported that to assure the quality of the vaccine, it is mandatory to maintain a certain temperature that is -70°C ±10 ° C throughout preservation and transportation. The storage condition should match the required temperature for an extended period of time along with dry ice. When defrosted, the vaccine needs to be stored for up to 5 days at the temperature range of 2-8°C.
The covid-19 pandemic has shown us that we can overcome any kind of problem with cooperation and patience. This phase is very difficult for everyone individually and as a whole. The pandemic has adversely affected many people and at the same time, it created opportunities for companies too. For instance, the sanitizer market is boomed in this period, similarly the masks and PPE kit market experienced that. The medical sector has flourished during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Although the vaccines have reached the human trial, we all know that it will take time to reach every individual. Till the time vaccine reaches us, we are advising everyone to support every individual who lost their jobs, help the local and small business to stand straight in this difficult time. The most important thing to keep in mind is to stop spreading fake news and information that might create panic among people.
