Literature Review: Vaccine Development

Vaccine Development

As soon as scientists released the genetic sequence for SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19), vaccine companies began developing and testing different formulas of an mRNA vaccine. This information was released on January 11, 2020, and less than two months later, there were 115 vaccine candidates awaiting testing approval (Le et al., 2020, paras. 1-4). The Moderna mRNA vaccination was among the first to be approved to initiate human testing (para. 4). Although many vaccines were created and tested, few were successful in obtaining approval from the World Health Organization (WHO) in the fight against Covid-19. Of the approved vaccines, many were made as DNA or mRNA vaccinations due to their ability to create antigens and antibodies to improve the body’s immune response against the virus (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021).

Le et al.’s (2020) study shows that private companies created 56% of the vaccine candidates, and 28% were produced through academic, non-profit organizations (para. 9). Although neither of these sectors had much experience creating mass amounts of vaccines at such a rapid pace, they believed in rigorous testing to ensure the safety of the vaccine’s use for the public. Most of the vaccine candidates were created in North America, so the guidelines of those countries also had to be adhered to in regards to production quality, safety, testing, and handling. A prominent supporter of the vaccine development process was the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), a global organization with the mission to accelerate vaccine development for pandemic and epidemic diseases, which communicated with “global health authorities and vaccine developers” (para. 2).

The researchers in this current study demonstrated the challenges that vaccine developers have had to face during this global health crisis in order to produce vaccines quickly and safely. In the future, vaccine creation will be improved for emergency use. Manufacturing capacity and regulatory practices will be increased in order to reduce development time for vaccines used to combat novel viruses (Le et al., 2020, para. 12). In order to improve vaccine efficacy in both short-term and long-term use, the development companies will be testing on animals to monitor how the vaccine could change once in the bloodstream (para. 14). Cooperation between governments, public health organizations, and vaccine developers will be necessary for ensuring rapid development, testing, and distribution plan as well as subsequent vaccination campaigns. Le et al’s article was included in this current research study to exemplify the struggle faced by vaccine development companies during the Covid-19 pandemic and how vaccine rollout strategies affect distribution, vaccination campaigns, and general vaccine acceptance.