Scientists double efforts to avail Covid-19 vaccine
A researcher conducts a lymphocyte purification of the blood samples taken from llamas immunized with SARS CoV 2 protein at INCUINTA laboratory at INTA Castelar in Hurlingham, Buenos Aires, Argentina, on June 2. AFP PHOTO
KAMPALA- At least 10 candidate Covid-19 vaccines are already in clinical evaluation stage and another 123 candidates in the preclinical trial stage, data from World Health Organisation (WHO) indicates.
There are six stages of vaccine development, which include exploratory, pre-clinical, clinical development, regulatory review and approval, manufacturing and quality control.
Experts say winning the fight against Covid-19 entails honest adherence to preventive measures and vaccinating the world population.
The 10 vaccines are being developed by universities, private pharmaceutical firms and other research institutes across the globe.
The developers are majorly found in China, the United Kingdom and United States of America.
Researchers at the University of Oxford, and AstraZeneca, a pharmaceutical firm who are developing a Covid-19 vaccine dubbed ChAdOx1, hope to have the first phase three data in hand between June and September.
“ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 is made from a virus (ChAdOx1), which is a weakened version of a common cold virus (adenovirus) that causes infections in chimpanzees, that has been genetically changed so that it is impossible for it to grow in humans,” the information on the university website reads in part. “By vaccinating with ChAdOx1, we are hoping to make the body recognise and develop an immune response to the Spike protein that will help stop the SARS-CoV-2 virus from entering human cells and therefore prevent infection,” the information further read.
The vaccine tests, which has enrolled 10,260 adults and children and involving a number of partner institutions, is already in phase 2b clinical trial.
This means it is remaining with only one phase to pass clinical trial stage and go for the authority approval process and then manufacturing.
Dr Misaki Wayengera, an immunologist and head of Ministerial Scientific Advisory Committee on Covid-19, affirmed that vaccines could be ready before the end of year. “The Covid-19 vaccines can be ready before end of 2020 but how the vaccines will be rolled out to reach the 7billion people in the world might be the biggest challenge,” he told Daily Monitor yesterday.
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