Coronavirus: when will the COVID-19 vaccine be ready?

20-03-2020 by Mirai

Medical teams and researchers around the world are in a race to create a coronavirus or COVID-19 vaccine, but experts say the vaccine is still 12 to 24 months away. The WHO has said in turn that the vaccine will be ready in at least 18 months. It could happen sooner but it is not a real estimate.

Vaccines have traditionally taken years to develop, but there is an advantage with COVID-19; the structure of the virus is very similar to the SARS virus. This has allowed scientists to investigate through that information.

The first phase is tested in animal models and these models allow us to determine if the vaccine has any protection against COVID-19. Estimates indicate that the vaccine is still one year from being fully developed.

When the virus infects you, what happens in its initial stage is that you don't feel well, you have a fever and some people develop pneumonia. If you recover, your immune system creates a response to the virus and stays in your body for later.

Around the world, about 20 vaccine candidates are being developed in institutes and pharmacies. In China more than 80 clinical tests have been performed according to the WHO. Two American pharmacists are approaching to test 45 people and in parallel also on animals. However, some experts indicate that speeding up the process does not adequately guarantee subsequent harm to people. Some studies indicate that the coronavirus vaccine is at risk of worsening the consequences of the infected person rather than preventing it.