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Where is the search for the coronavirus vaccine? On Tuesday, Vladimir Putin claimed that Russia had developed the "first" vaccine against the coronavirus. After this statement, the WHO called for caution, while the rest of the world deemed the statement "premature". But this surprise announcement highlights real competition, even international emulation, in the search for a vaccine to stop the epidemic which has already killed more than 743,000 people worldwide.
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Everything is going faster than usual
For several months, researchers around the world have been trying to find the right formula against the coronavirus and everything is going much faster than usual. The procedures have been accelerated. This is particularly true in China, a country which has seen the emergence of Covid-19 and which would like to be the first country to have a vaccine.
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Two Chinese and three Western projects
International fundraisers have been launched by states and foundations. This allows pharmaceutical companies to start the industrial manufacture of several thousand doses at the same time as they test their vaccine. Currently, five projects are at a well advanced stage, what is called phase 3: we are testing the efficacy of the vaccine on a larger cohort, generally thousands of volunteers. Two Chinese vaccine candidates are at this stage, as well as three Western projects: a British, an American and a German-American collaboration.
Very promising results at the Institut Pasteur
Then there are about twenty other clinical trials that have been launched around the world, trials which are currently at stage 1, where the dangerousness of the vaccine is tested. The candidate vaccine from the Institut Pasteur in France is one of them and according to information from Europe 1, their results are already very promising.
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A vaccine available in 2021?
But when will these vaccines actually be available? The most optimistic specialists, including the Russians and the Americans, believe that a vaccine will be available this fall. But it is more reasonable to count on the first quarter of next year. Hoping, of course, that the current clinical trials prove to be conclusive. But we must be aware of the current speed of research. Normally, it takes at least five to seven years to develop a vaccine.