Coronavirus Vaccine update: From "life-saving" Dexamethasone, Oxford vaccine guaranteeing protection and Phase 1 of ferret studies, here are all the updates

Nearly six months have passed since we heard about the first detected case of coronavirus in Wuhan, China. Soon enough, it spread globally, infecting close to 8 million people and killing many. The discovery of a common low-cost steroid drug, Dexamethasone came as the most promising developments recently, even as over a 110 groups work round the clock to search for a potential vaccine to prevent the virus from spreading. Here are all the recent updates you need to know:

Commonly used anti-inflammatory steroid drug, Dexamethasone emerged as one of the first life-saving drugs against COVID-19. A mid-scale study conducted in the UK found out that the drug, when prescribed to patients severely ill from the pandemic was able to cut down the mortality rate by 1/3rd in those on ventilation support. The research was hailed as a potential breakthrough by several experts, even as the pressure to start using the drug as part of standard prescription in hospitals grew. The research body involved in the trial was the same one which found evidence that HCQ (Hydroxychloroquine) was not extremely effective on all COVID positive patients.

The preliminary findings were appreciated by the WHO and doctors. However, dexamethasone found to be incredibly effective in severe cases of COVID-19, did not show the same effect on those suffering from milder symptoms. Further research and study are still needed before we pin our hopes on the same.

While the drug has shown good results so far, experts involved in the RECOVERY clinical trial said that drug isn't meant for people with mild symptoms or those recovering at home, adding that the drug may make them experience side-effects. One expert said:

“It’s very important to get the message across that this is not a drug for people at home and not very sick, because those patients don’t have the inflammation, and the drug may make them worse.”

Russia is one of the worst affected countries by the pandemic and the nation is seeing a lot of homegrown efforts in the development of both workable vaccines and treatment plans to target the novel coronavirus. In the most recent development, it was announced that the country would soon be proceeding with clinical trials of its newly invented vaccine, which has been approved by health officials. A leading epidemiologist from the country also said that if all goes according to plan, they were expecting mass vaccination and immunisation drive happening this fall. The vaccine development is being headed by Moscow-based Gamaleya research institute and trials are going on in isolated Moscow hospitals.

Apart from this, Russian medical researchers are also studying the use of an experimental drug, Avifavir on COVID positive patients as part of a clinical trial.

Pharmaceutical giant, Vaxine Private Limited announced that they had successfully completed the immunization phase of their innovative vaccine prototype, COVAX-19 on ferrets and is hopeful of seeing more positive developments happen over the next four weeks. The tests are being conducted at the University of Georgia and the first phase of human trials are expected to commence soon, with a hopeful plan to launch the vaccine in the early months of 2021.

The company's innovative COVID-19 vaccine is being praised for its unique Advax (TM) technology which has been found to target both the T-cells as well as any inflammatory side effects usually associated with a vaccine's workability when combined with the SARS-CoV2 spike protein.

Even as London recorded one of the steepest declines in its COVID-19 cases since the infection first rose, Imperial College of London recently announced the start of human trials of its innovative vaccine, which makes use of synthetic code of the SARS-COV2's genetic material, which is injected into the body to modify the immune system's response. While the first phase of the study will involve dosing nearly 300 volunteers, researchers are hopeful of seeing mass immunization happen in early 2021.

The novel vaccine prototype being helmed by the University of Oxford and British pharma company, AstraZeneca is currently one of the frontrunners in the vaccine hunt, with trials being expedited in countries outside the UK too. The vaccine candidate, AZD1222 is seeing speedy developments happen and production is also underway. Researchers have now also said that the vaccine, which has delivered promising and safe results till now can work by providing immunity against the deadly virus for "up to a year's time".

The clinical trials, which began in April is in advanced stages right now. While results are expected by August-September, the makers are fully prepared to deliver vaccine doses by the month of October, if everything goes to plan.

As India battles one of the deadliest pandemics in history, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said that the country's top researchers and scientists are working on developing a vaccine to fight the deadly virus. Around seven independent groups have been identified to work on a prototype and several have also collaborated with foreign bodies to speed up work on a preventive vaccine candidate.

Apart from this, India is also seeing a rise in the use of prophylactic and alternative remedies being used to fight coronavirus. Baba Ramdev's Patanjali Group recently claimed to have found a "100% effective cure" with Ayurvedic herbs, clinical trials for which are still underway. In some states, homeopathic medicines are being prescribed to frontline workers and COVID-19 patients. Apart from this, researches involving Ayurvedic medicines, which India is home to are being conducted to see if they can help in any way.