Coronavirus Vaccine Trials

Development of COVID-19 vaccine would be a turning point in this global pandemic situation. Scientists all around the world are working day and night to make vaccine and to find a treatment for this deadly disease. Countries such as China, USA, Japan, UK and Germany are working on multiple projects and some are already in the clinical trial
phase.
Ongoing Trials:

Different companies and educational institutes have created the vaccine and are carrying out clinical trials. Some USA based organizations include:

1– Novavax in pre-clinical phase

2- Inovio pharmaceuticals in phase 1

3- Moderna, which is currently in phase 2 trial

Chinese companies CanSino Biologics and Sinovac are both in phase 1 of the clinical trials. The Chinese company Sinopharm is in phase 2 of trials in china and has also offered to carry out trials in Pakistan. Similarly, University of Oxford, UK is very confident about the results of vaccine trials and is in phase 2/3.

Multiple Phases of Clinical Trials:

The first phase concentrates on testing on a small number of people to observe side effects. In the second phase the vaccine is given to hundreds of people. Third phase involves effectivity testing of vaccine on thousands of people. At this point if the vaccine shows no side effects and the regulatory agencies approve, it is ready to be introduced in market. But sometimes a phase 4 is also necessary to check long-term effects.

Expected Launch of COVID-19 Vaccine in Market:

As various companies worldwide are carrying out human trials on COVID-19 vaccine it is expected that a vaccine would be launched in 12-18 months. If clinical trials, that are being carried out at the moment, prove that a vaccine is effective and does not impose serious side effects only then it would be made available by mid or late 2021.