Coronavirus vaccine fresh updates: Three crucial reasons why so many COVID vaccines are being developed

Even as the world waits with bated breath for a vaccine fit for human use to end the menace of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19 cases have already crossed the 18 million mark globally. As we write this, there are more than 160 vaccine candidates in different stages of trials to battle the coronavirus pandemic and 27 of them have reached the human trials. Out of these 27 vaccine candidates, 5 have reached the extremely crucial Phase III of clinical trials and these include vaccine candidates developed by Oxford-AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna Inc, Sinopharm and Chinese drugmaker Sinovac.

Even as health experts believe that a vaccine for a novel coronavirus cannot hit the market for public circulation before 2021, countries are signing billion-dollar deals to procure their supply of effective COVID vaccine, whenever it is launched. As of now, the potential vaccine developed by Oxford University is being touted as the frontrunner in the race of vaccine development, after it showed “extremely promising” results in its preliminary trials.

The result published in the journal Lancet showed that ADZ1222 (vaccine candidate of Oxford University) is "well-tolerated", generated good immunity and had very mild side-effects. It was also noted that the potential vaccine also spiked growth of Killer T-cells in the body.

Even with strict social distancing measures and respiratory guidelines in place, the highly infectious virus continues to spread at an unprecedented rate. This is precisely the reason why scientists and research teams across the world are making accelerated efforts to develop a vaccine to battle the novel coronavirus. Currently, there are more than 160 coronavirus vaccine candidates in different stages of development, we are exploring why we actually need more than one coronavirus vaccine to fight the pandemic ravaging the world.

It is important to understand that 160+ COVID vaccine candidates do not automatically equate 160+ coronavirus vaccines for the entire world. As of now, merely 27 potential vaccines have been cleared for human trials and only 5 out of them have reached the last stage of clinical trials. It usually takes 10-15 years on an average to develop a safe and effective vaccine fit for human use. Hence, even when scientists and researchers are racing against time and working at breakneck speed to develop a vaccine for COVID-19, the chances of all the vaccine candidates materializing into successful vaccines are actually quite slim.

Infact, even out of the five vaccines currently in the last stage of human trials, there are huge chances that only 1 or 2 will be given the regulatory approval for mass vaccinations. This is because preliminary trials are conducted in a controlled, laboratory settings while the crucial Phase III trials are conducted outside the laboratory condition. Developing a vaccine is an extremely tricky, time-consuming and incredibly risky process, which is why, the more the vaccine candidates, the more the chances of developing one effective and safe vaccine to contain the pandemic. More vaccines will mean more helping hands to quickly contain the spread of COVID infection across the globe.

To contain the viral contagian which has spread to 213 nations and affected more than 18 million people worldwide, one approved COVID vaccine will not be enough. In order to vaccinate the whole world (a population of roughly 7.8 billion) and put a pause on the spread of COVID-19, we will need more than one vaccine. Hence, we will not only need large scale collaboration between vaccine manufacturers across the globe, but we will also need multiple vaccines to start the vaccination process as soon as possible.

Another crucial factor in play is that given the breakneck speed at which the vaccines are being developed, it is quite possible that the first vaccine to made available for public circulation may not be as effective as previously deemed. Hence, when we have several vaccines in the pipeline, necessary tweaks and changes can be done to combat the drawbacks of the first vaccine.