COVID Vaccines
How, when and why were they developed?
In November of 2002, an outbreak of a never before seen virus in humans occurred near Hong Kong. This was the SARS-CoV-1 virus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). Symptoms included fever, dry cough, head and muscle aches and difficulty breathing. Over 8000 people in 29 countries were infected and over 774 people died worldwide. It originated in markets in China but where it came from is still controversial. Some scientists say it was from bats, others say that bats passed the virus to civets (a raccoon like animal in Asia/Africa) and then it transmitted to humans. The Chinese government reported this outbreak to the World Health Organization (WHO) in February 2003 after 410 cases and 5 deaths had occurred. There have been no reported cases since May 2004.
In April of 2012, there was an outbreak of MERS or Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV). The symptoms included fever, cough, shortness of breath and gastrointestinal symptoms like diarrhea. This virus affected at least 27 countries and as of May 2019, there were over 2442 with a 35% fatality rate. There are still cases popping up occasionally. The largest outbreak outside of the Arabian Peninsula occurred in 2015 in Korea with 186 cases and 38 deaths. The virus is passed from dromedary camels to humans.
The COVID-19 virus that we know today, SARS-CoV-2, is a type of coronavirus like the above mentioned viruses. With the SARS outbreak in 2003, scientists started to develop and test different theories for treatment/vaccine. When SARS got under control and the funding for the research stopped, the data that was being gathered came to a halt and was stored. With this previous research, scientists knew the make-up of the coronavirus and so knew about the spike protein that you may have heard about. The spike proteins cover the outside of the coronavirus resembling a crown (corona in Latin means crown). These proteins can change shape to latch onto our cells. This variation of the SARS virus latches on even tighter than previous viruses making it capable of infecting us faster. Think of the previous data collected as a cheat sheet for scientists.
Typically, as you may have read in our About Clinical Research section, a vaccine or drug can take up to 8 years or more to develop and manufacturing and distributing can take months after the drug is approved. What has helped with the quick turn around time for COVID19 vaccines is the previous knowledge we had, as discussed above, along with newer technologies being used to create the vaccines, increased funding, coordination and cooperation of many different organizations worldwide such as public health bodies, governments and agencies like the National Institute of Health and the World Health Organization.
A vaccine is typically developed by using a virus' antigen (the part of the virus our body recognizes) to develop a medicine that the body produces antibodies to to fight disease. Antigens can be virus-like particles, weakened viruses/bacteria or other substances. This is called viral vector based vaccine development. This method is proven to have long term stability and a strong immune response.
New technologies not previously used for vaccine development are being used for the COVID-19 vaccine development like mRNA based vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna), DNA based vaccines (Astra-Zeneca), viral vector based (Johnson and Johnson, Astra-Zeneca), protein based (Novavax), and inactivated virus based (Sinopharm and Bharat Biotech) Using these new technologies allows for quicker development.
Funding for development of vaccines usually is funded by the Sponsor drug company AFTER the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the U.S. approves the vaccine. With increased funding, we see the quick development of vaccines for COVID-19 because the government is helping Sponsors produce the vaccine BEFORE an emergency use authorization is issued depending on results of clinical trials.
If you have any questions about any of this, please feel free to contact us at 843-795-1710. We are always happy to discuss the process of research.