Who Will Win The Vaccine Race Of Covid19?

The World Health Organization expects to make 10 million vaccines available by early 2021. COVID 19 cases have crossed the 19 million mark and fatalities of around 7,00,000 across the world. More than 150 countries are engaged in the global access facility of the vaccine (1). Many countries are dedicated to the vaccine race for COVID 19 and want to achieve the silver line of publication – “The first Corona virus Vaccine is out in the market”. Though Russia has announced itself as the first achiever, they are yet to get approval from FDA and WHO (2).

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Top 3 Countries Making the COVID19 Vaccine

Apart from Russia, the other three countries making the vaccine are USA, UK, and China. The COVID 19 vaccine trials are divided into three phases, I, II & III (3). Here we have considered countries and organizations in phase II/III, and III trial.

USA – There are three pharma companies in USA that are in phase II/III trials, which means phase II is on the verge of completion and phase III is about to start. Those are:

Moderna, which is in phase III, is at the final phase of the trial. They are formulating mRNA type vaccine. The name of their vaccine is mRNA-1273.
Pfizer, a USA based company, is working in association with Biontech, a German based company, to develop the vaccine. They are in phase II/III trial of preparing mRNA type vaccine for COVID 19. The name of their vaccine is BNT162b2.
Novavax Inc. is in phase II/III of the trial procedure. They are processing the Protein Sub-unit vaccine. The name of the vaccine made by them is Matrix-M™

UK – Oxford University is leading the development of the vaccine in UK and is in phase III of the trial. They are making a Viral Vector vaccine called Covi-shield .

China – The Wuhan Institute of Biological Products is in phase III of the trial procedure. For the COVID 19 vaccine launch they are using the Inactivated Vaccine formulation.

Apart from the above-mentioned countries and companies, there are many more that are conducting the phase I and phase II trial procedure. Individuals voluntarily come up to participate as COVID 19 vaccine trial candidates. They are generously funded by Governmental and non-governmental entities across the world to carry on the cost of the experiment.

What Are the Different Types of Corona virus Vaccines?

There are different types of vaccines and methods for preparation for the vaccines in development.

mRNA Vaccine – These vaccines use a mRNA sequence, that is, a messenger RNA molecule, which tells the cells what type of antibody to build. The immune system recognizes the antigen of the disease and prepares itself to fight off the disease. This type of vaccine is cheaper to produce and safer for the body (4).

Protein Sub-unit Vaccine – This vaccine type uses the protein component of the virus. It vitalizes the immune system of the body to attack the targeted part of the virus, which is an active procedure of killing it. The best part of this is that it can be used for any age group and any person despite their physical conditions. The vaccine requires people to get booster doses to remain effective over time. It could also strongly trigger individuals with a weak immune system (5).

Viral Vector Vaccine – A live virus is used to carry DNA into human cells. The DNA present in the virus encodes the antigen, which expresses itself in the infected human cells. This triggers the immune response against the virus. However, this procedure is rarely used since a live virus is involved here (6).

Inactivated Vaccine – No live part of the virus is used here. Hence, it is not as strong as the live vaccine and it is safer. It uses a synthetic or replicated version of the virus and tries to trigger the immune system. Subsequent doses and boosters are required to keep the vaccine activated in the body (7).

India plans on getting most of their vaccines made by Oxford University, which is a Viral Vector type. However, this depends on which corona virus vaccine gets approved by the WHO.

COVID19 Vaccine Trials, Availability, and Marketing in India

The Serum Institute of India (SII) is conducting the phase III trial of the vaccine made by Oxford University and will be responsible for marketing it. It is expected that this vaccine will be catered to the Indian population irrespective of economic condition. The Government will also extend its support to all to recover from this pandemic. Besides them, Bharat Biotech is also working with a vaccine producer and drug maker, Zydus Cadila.

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Covid 19 vaccine to overcome global pandemic and ways

To face such an unprecedented situation of a global pandemic, researchers in the medical field have received huge funding and are doing tremendous work in order to restore the normality in our lives. We have seen some of the most innovative work to develop the vaccine and speed up the clinical trial process. For the vaccine to be effective it should be administered to everyone, regardless of their socio-economic standing. Hence, governments and world organizations are subsidizing costs to make the vaccine available in countries with poor economic conditions. It is expected that an approved vaccine should be released early to mid year in 2021, but until then we must make sure we do our part to prevent it from spreading any further.

Disclaimer:

Anzen Exports’ blog posts are based just on our research from cited websites. To be best informed, we advise consulting a doctor about an ingredient or medicine prior to taking it.