Two public health nurses vaccinate adults at a polio clinic in Southey, Sask. in 1960.
(Canadian Nurses Association fonds. Library and Archives Canada)
At the height of polio and H1N1, Canadians were keen to get vaccinated, but vaccine enthusiasm waned once the crisis had passed — what does that mean for COVID-19?
Cuba’s Finaly Institute, which is developing three ‘Soberana’ vaccine candidates for COVID-19.
Yamil Lage/EPA
Researchers are already working to improve the current crop of mRNA vaccines. Hopefully this will help them become more practical and affordable for the entire world, not just first-world countries.
Be careful of interpreting incomplete vaccine data.
Narendra Shrestha/EPA
You need a new shot every year because current flu vaccines provide limited and temporary protection. But researchers’ new strategy could mean a one-and-done influenza vaccine is on the way.
The HIV/AIDS response played out over a much longer trajectory than COVID-19. But it is, in some respects, a shining example of what can be achieved when countries and people work together.
Pfizer and BioNTech have announced 95% efficacy for their mRNA vaccine, having met the final target they need to before seeking regulatory approval.
A volunteer gets an injection of Moderna’s possible COVID-19 vaccine on July 27, 2020. Moderna announced Nov. 16 that its vaccine is proving highly effective in a major trial.
(AP Photo/Hans Pennink)
Two pharma companies have announced early COVID-19 vaccine trial results with over 90 per cent effectiveness. What does that mean for getting back to normal?
Two more COVID-19 vaccines may now be on the cards for Australia, should they pass clinical trials. But, as with earlier vaccine deals, there are no guarantees.
Any COVID-19 vaccine is likely to be given first to higher risk groups before it is given to children. But we still need vaccines that are safe and effective for them too.
Pregnant women are at increased risk for serious COVID-19 complications and should be a high-priority group for vaccination. Excluding them from vaccine trials puts them and their offspring at risk.
There are many scientific and ethical challenges ahead. But these types of trials have helped in the development of vaccines against a few diseases. Could they do the same for COVID-19?
How much longer must society wait for a vaccine?
ANDRZEJ WOJCICKI/Getty Images
Several vaccines are in Phase 3 trials. So when will we know whether any of these will protect against COVID-19?
A lab technician holds a vial of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate during testing at the Chula Vaccine Research Center, run by Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand on May 25, 2020.
(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Will a vaccine for COVID-19 be safe? Animal testing, human clinical trials and post-approval surveillance give us good grounds to believe that a future approved vaccine will work and be safe.
The vaccines being tested in South Africa have been included on the World Health Organization’s list of 26 most viable candidate vaccines to enter human clinical trials.
As human trials begin for potential COVID-19 vaccines, the ethics of human challenges studies must be considered.
(Shutterstock)
Thousands of people around the world have said they are willing to be exposed to COVID-19 to test new vaccines. Since we don’t fully understand the long-term effects of the disease, is this ethical?
Professor of medicine and deputy director of the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre at the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town
Medical Scientist at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases; Research Associate at CAPRISA; Research Professor in the School of Pathology, University of the Witwatersrand
Research Professor and DST/NRF SARChI Chair of Virus-Host Dynamics, National Institute for Communicable Diseases, CAPRISA Research Associate, University of the Witwatersrand