The race for a COVID-19 vaccine: where are we up to?

ABSTRACT

Introduction

A novel strain of coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, has triggered a global pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in late 2019. In January 2020, the WHO declared this pandemic a public health emergency. This pandemic has already caused over 5.3 million deaths from more than 272 million infections. The development of a successful vaccine is an urgent global priority to halt the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and prevent further fatalities. Researchers are fast-tracking this process, and there have already been significant developments in preclinical and clinical phases in a relatively short period of time. Some vaccines have been approved either for emergency use or mass application in recent months.

Areas covered

Herein, we provide a general understanding of the fast-tracked clinical trial procedures and highlight recent successes in preclinical and clinical trials to generate a clearer picture of the progress of COVID-19 vaccine development.

Expert opinion

A good number of vaccines have been rolled out within a short period a feat unprecedented in medical history. However, the emergence of new variants over time has appeared as a new threat, and the number of infections and casualties is still on the rise and this is going to be an ongoing battle.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• vaccine
• preclinical
• clinical
• fast track
• pandemic

Funding

This paper was not funded.

Article highlights

• An overview of the overall COVID-19 vaccine development efforts at preclinical stage

• The article provides insights into the vaccine development timeframe (classical vs fast track)

• This article highlights the COVID-19 vaccines at different clinical stages along with approved vaccines for emergency use or mass application

• An expert opinion is provided on various aspects of COVID-19 vaccines for future consideration including the emergence of new variants and the need for new vaccines.

• The need for assessing the potential side effects in long term studies is presented

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank The Thelma and Paul Constantinou Foundation, the Greek Orthodox Archdio-23 cese of Australia, The Pappas Family and donors to VU vaccine appeal, whose generous philanthropic support made possible the 24 preparation of this paper. The authors would also like to thank the Immunology and Translational Research Group for their signifi-25 cant contribution. The Mechanisms and Interventions in Health and Disease Program within the Institute for Health and Sport, 26 Victoria University Australia are also appreciated for their support. Md. K.H was supported by the Victoria University Postgraduate 27 Scholarship and the Vice-Chancellors top-up Scholarship Award and J.F was supported by University of Melbourne Postgraduate 28 Scholarship.

Author contribution

All authors contributed to the conceptualization and design of the article. Md K Hossain and M Hassanzadeganroudsari wrote the article. V Apostolopoulos and J Feehan edited the article. Md K Hossain, M Hassanzagedanroudsari, 19 J Feehan, V Apostolopoulos contributed to the interpretation of the results and helped draft or revise the manuscript. All authors 20 have read, reviewed and approved the final paper.

Declaration of interest

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.