Covid-19: Scientists may never be able to develop vaccine against Coronavirus; Report
Top health experts have given a warning saying that scientists may not be in a position to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus at all and pointed that it has happened before in case of dengue and HIV, a report has stated.
In excess of 100 vaccines are currently under pre-clinical trial and a few of those have started the human trial stage.
“There are some viruses that we still do not have vaccines against,” Dr David Nabarro, a professor of global health at Imperial College London, was quoted as saying by CNN on Sunday.
“We can’t make an absolute assumption that a vaccine will appear at all, or if it does appear, whether it will pass all the tests of efficacy and safety,” Nabarro, who is also a special envoy to the World Health Organization (WHO) on coronavirus, stated.
Anthony Fauci, director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is one of those who say a vaccine will come in a year to 18 months, while host of others have stated that it may take more time than that.
Most of the experts are optimistic that a vaccine will in due course be made because unlike earlier infections like malaria and HIV, the Sars-CoV-2 doesn’t evolve expeditiously.
Dr David Nabarro, however, drew attention to the fact that the procedure of making a vaccine is slow and painful.
“You have high hopes, and then your hopes are dashed. We’re dealing with biological systems, we’re not dealing with mechanical systems. It really depends so much on how the body reacts,” Dr David Nabarro stated.
“We’ve never accelerated a vaccine in a year to 18 months. It doesn’t mean it’s impossible, but it will be quite a heroic achievement. We need plan A, and a plan B,” Dr Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, told CNN.
The researchers at the Oxford Vaccine Group and Oxford’s Jenner Institute have identified a vaccine candidate for coronavirus. The prospective upcoming vaccine, ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, is made upon an adenovirus vaccine vector and the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.
As maintained by World Health Organisation (WHO), out of 102 candidate vaccines in the run-up, eight are in the human trial stage.
A lot of treatments are being tried for coronavirus and scientists are also considering experimental anti-Ebola drug remdesivir and blood plasma therapies are also being considered.
According to experts hydroxychloroquine, endorsed as a likely game changer by the US President Donald Trump, has been found not to work on very ill people.
In the meantime, Dr David Nabarro stated that getting everything set ourselves will be a recourse till a vaccine against coronavirus is made.
“It’s absolutely essential that all societies everywhere get themselves into a position where they are able to defend against the coronavirus as a constant threat and to be able to go about social life and economic activity with the virus in our midst,” Dr Nabarro stated while talking to CNN.
