Since December 2019, the whole world has been reeling from a bad hand, which has now extended to a chokehold, courtesy the coronavirus.
With the symptoms of COVID-19 taking varying degrees of seriousness, from a dry cough to tiredness, to more significant indicators like conjunctivitis, the loss of smell and a great difficulty breathing, a cure or vaccine to the coronavirus couldn’t come a day too soon.
Currently, there is no known or widely accepted vaccine to the coronavirus. However, these companies are showing promise with their discoveries:
Moderna
This Massachusetts based biotechnology company is showing real promise in the lead to find a coronavirus vaccine.
In data that was published on May 18th, 2020, the company announced that eight participants of its vaccine test on humans, showed increased levels of antibodies, similar or greater than those in recovered covid-19 patients following low and medium doses of its vaccine
This suggests that the Moderna vaccine triggers some level of immunity.
The University of Oxford
While human testing remains ongoing, the University of Oxford could provide up to 30 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine by September, should it have a successful run.
Called ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, researchers at the Oxford Vaccine Group began testing in April 2020, to see whether healthy people could be protected from the vaccine.
Sorrento Therapeutics
This US-based company announced in Mid-May that its antibody-drug has been effective during early testing, in completely blocking the virus that causes COVID-19. They also claim it could be effective in preventing infection.
However, it could be months before we see this product in the market, as clinical trials to determine its effectiveness and the right dosage to implement in curbing the virus.
Pfizer
In early May, Pfizer began human trials on an experimental coronavirus vaccine. The vaccine is meant to produce proteins in the body that can trigger an immune response to combat the new coronavirus in people who contract the virus.
The company plans to test different versions of the vaccine and will move forward with the version that produces the safest and strongest results.
CanSino Biologics
This China-based company is another with coronavirus vaccines undergoing clinical trials.
Referred to as Ad5-nCoV, the vaccine is currently passing through trials in Canada and has been approved by the country’s Prime Minister – Justin Trudeau.
While these vaccines are showing great promise at a time where every glimmer of hope is appreciated, it could be a while before they are safe for mass production and use. Our best bets right now, are to continue safe practices like hand washing, social distancing and isolation, to beat the virus.
