A general view during the country’s first human clinical trial for a potential COVID-19 vaccine in Soweto, South Africa.
Felix Dlangamandla/Beeld/Gallo Images via Getty Images
There isn’t enough clinical research being done in Africa. This has had a lot of repercussions in terms of the timing when interventions become available and effective in high income countries.
Are we really all in this together? ‘Vaccine nationalism’ must be addressed to ensure equitable distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine.
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Word that the U.S. has bought up the entire supply of the COVID-19 drug remdesivir is another reminder that in a pandemic, treatments and vaccines need to be accessible to everyone, globally.
The scope and length of vaccine testing experiments usually mean decade-long timelines for development.
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It usually takes 10 years for a new vaccine to complete clinical trials, but we’ve been promised a COVID-19 vaccine in 12 to 18 months. Even if such fast-tracked development is possible, is it wise?
As most of the world early awaits a vaccine for COVID-19, a smaller group of people scoffs. They could spell real trouble in the effort to build widespread immunity.
A test that detects antibodies against the coronavirus behind COVID-19 would reveal those people who have already encountered the virus - and therefore who might be ok to resume normal life.
A vaccine must go through six crucial steps.
PhotobyTawat/ Shutterstock
We urgently need a vaccine for COVID-19 but exposing humans to a vaccine candidate that hasn’t undergone the usual safety assessments is risky.
It is critical to learn more about SARS-CoV-2, including its source and why transmission appears to be more efficient than with previous coronaviruses.
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Researchers around the world are working together to control the coronavirus outbreak, now known as COVID-19. This is what’s behind the global effort to develop a vaccine.
The oral polio vaccine is most commonly used in the developing world, despite one big problem.
CDC/Alan Janssen, MSPH
A challenge in eradicating polio comes from a version of the vaccine itself, which relies on live but attenuated virus. Rationally designing a new vaccine could help get rid of polio once and for all.
A Masai herdsman walks with his cattle in Amboseli National Park in Kenya.
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Lung plague attacks cattle causing disease and death, and more than US$60 million in losses annually in Africa. A new vaccine could prevent the disease.
Vaccines need to be kept cold to remain effective. A lack of power in remote areas makes this difficult, reducing the reach of the life-saving pharmaceuticals.
Flu virus mutates so quickly that one year’s vaccine won’t work on the next year’s common strains. But rational design – a new way to create vaccines – might pave the way for more lasting solutions.
This antivirus software protects health, not computers. Researchers are beginning to combat deadly infections using computer-generated antiviral proteins – a valuable tool to fight a future pandemic.
What if it wasn’t back to the drawing board every year for a new flu shot?
Andrew Kelly/Reuters
Flu virus mutates so quickly that one year’s vaccine won’t work on the next year’s common strains. But a new way to create vaccines, called ‘rational design,’ might pave the way for more lasting solutions.
HIV plays hide and seek with the body’s immune system to evade detection. But we can learn from its tactics to make a range of vaccines against infectious diseases.
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