With rising cases of the novel coronavirus, we¡¯re all desperately trying to get our hands on the vaccine to protect ourselves from SARS-CoV-2. And with every passing day, we¡¯re getting a little bit closer to a world without the pandemic.
Today we have several players in the arena touting high effectiveness against the novel coronavirus. Here¡¯s where all the vaccines currently stand.?
This was the vaccine that first revealed that it was over 90 percent effective against the novel coronavirus, and only a few weeks later, it brought this up to up to 95 percent.?
Today, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been approved by the UK government and people are expected to be vaccinated starting this week.
Additionally, this vaccine is also seeking emergency use authorization in various countries including the US and India. Bahrain last week approved emergency use for the vaccine. FDA has announced that it will announce a hearing on the emergency use authorization of the vaccine on Thursday this week, whereas authorities in India are still working on approving this.?
Moderna was the first to have announced that they¡¯re working on a vaccine to take down the novel coronavirus and a few weeks ago, they announced that their vaccine is 94.5 percent effective against SARS CoV-2. Moreover, Moderna has also claimed that the vaccine is 100 percent effective against contracting severe cases of the novel coronavirus.?
Moderna too has applied for emergency use authorization with the FDA and they¡¯ve announced that they¡¯ll issue a hearing on the vaccine on December 16.?
Another vaccine that showcased a lot of promise was the ChAdOx1 vaccine, also known as the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. Serum Institute of India has received authorization for manufacturing the vaccine in India under the name ¡®Covishield¡¯.?
However, when Oxford-AstraZeneca revealed that their vaccine was up to 70 percent effective, which is still commendable but still behind compared to Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and even Russia¡¯s Sputnik V showing up to 95 percent effectiveness.
Researchers at Oxford acknowledged that an error in trials, where some patients were administered a half dose and full dose, saw the effectiveness of 90 percent. On the other hand, administering two full doses brought down the number to 62 percent. They¡¯ve announced that they¡¯ll be conducting their trials once again to get an accurate picture of the vaccine¡¯s effectiveness.?
Despite this, Serum Institute of India has applied for emergency-use authorization for the Covishield vaccine in India, which is expected to get approved by the end of this year.?
China too has been developing a few vaccines for SARS CoV-2 and one of these vaccines makers -- CanSino has received a positive response. The company was the first in China to receive a patent for its vaccine.?
The vaccine was tested not just in China but its phase 3 trials saw the participation of nations like the UAE, Mexico, Argentina and Chile.
According to a report by Khaleej Times, In UAE, the trial vaccinated over 30,000 UAE Armed Forces, where the participants experienced mild side effects and no severe illness. In fact, in September, it also approved emergency use authorization for the vaccine in the country.?
Sputnik V was the first vaccine in the world to be approved for use. It was authorized for use starting August and as of now, over 100,000 high-risk people have been vaccinated against the novel coronavirus, according to Health Minister Mikhail Murashko who revealed this earlier this week during a presentation to the United Nations about Sputnik V.
Authorities have now announced that the vaccine will also be given priority to doctors and teachers as they run the highest risk of exposure to the disease. They expect to vaccinate 2 million people by the end of this year.?
This vaccine is also making its way to India. As of now, the vaccine is also undergoing phase 2 and 3 trials in India at Kanpur¡¯s Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Medical College after Dr Reddy¡¯s Laboratories got approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI).