The Mirror | October 2020 | Van Nuys High School | Los Angeles, California USA

theMIRROR | C U R R E N T E V E N T S | | OCTOBER 2020 |3
How far
away are
we from a
covid-19
vaccine?
By OWEN MITCHELL & SHAAN BHATIA
THE MIRROR STAFF
As covid-19 related deaths exceed one
million worldwide, six vaccines have
been approved for limited use, while 45
vaccines are being tested in clinical trials
on humans.
Before a vaccine can be approved for limited or full
public use, it must undergo three phases of testing.
Prior to Phase 1, scientists test a new vaccine on cells
and then give it to animals like mice to see if it produces
an immune response.
Scientists then move onto Phase 1 which is a small
study performed on volunteers to test the safety and
dosage and to determine the effects of the drug on cells
including how it is absorbed, metabolized and excreted.
Phase 2 expands the vaccine to hundreds of people
split into groups, such as children and the elderly, to
study how the drug performs differently in them. This
phase continues to test the vaccine’s safety and ability to
stimulate the immune system.
Phase 3 is large-scale testing conducted with thousands
of people to observe how many become infected,
compared with volunteers who received a placebo.
Phase 3 trials will determine if the vaccine protects
against the coronavirus.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has advised
scientists that they should see evidence that the
vaccines can protect at least 50 percent of those who
received it. Phase 3 trials also reveal side effects that may
have been missed in earlier trials.
11 vaccines are currently in Phase 3 trials around the
world right now.
Pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson and
Boston-based Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center are
currently approved for Phase 3 after testing their vaccine
on monkeys showed signs that it offered protection
against coronavirus.
Further testing of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine was
abruptly stopped on Oct. 12 after a study participant
became sick with what the company called an “unexplained
illness.”
The U.S. government has already invested $450 million
of taxpayer money into developing the vaccine,
under the Administration’s Warp Speed program, which
has distributed billions of dollars in funding to companies
to quickly get a vaccine to market.
In the wake of Johnson & Johnson’s announcement,
another American-based drug manufacturer, Eli Lilly,
announced on the following day that it was also pausing
the trial of its experimental covid-19 vaccine. It is unclear
what safety issues prompted the pause.
Eli Lilly’s vaccine is similar to a drug currently in trials
ISTOCK | STEFANAMER
developed by Regeneron, which President Donald Trump
received after his diagnosis with covid-19, and has been
touting as a cure, even though most scientists are highly
skeptical.
Regeneron and Eli Lilly’s treatments use monoclonal
antibodies which theoretically mimic the natural immune
response to the virus.
Another promising vaccine in Phase 3 testing is being
developed by Moderna in partnership with the National
Institutes of Health. Their approach relies on messenger
RNA (mRNA) to produce viral proteins in the body.
The U.S. government has provided the company
nearly $1 billion in support. Moderna will be awarded an
additional $1.5 billion from the government in exchange
for 100 million doses if the vaccine is safe and effective.
Pharmaceutical company Novavax is developing a
vaccine that increases proteins produced by the immune
system to fight infections and enhances immunity.
After promising results from preliminary studies in
monkeys and humans, Novavax launched a Phase 3 trial,
testing up to 10,000 volunteers in the United Kingdom
and is preparing to bring phase 3 testing to the United
States later this month.
The company has also partnered with the Serum Institute
of India, a vaccine manufacturer, and if the vaccine
is approved for use, that would allow for production of up
to 2 billion doses of the drug a year.
Pfizer, the frontrunner in developing a vaccine for the
United States, said its results won’t be ready until mid-
November at the earliest.
This dims any expectations of a vaccine by election
day as promised by President Trump, whose prospects
had already been dismissed by most doctors and researchers
as wishful thinking.
“I am willing to do my part in order to make my
community safe. I want to go back to normal life and if
vaccines are the answer, then I think everything should
be done to make it happen and cure this disease,” senior
Steven Kim said.
Chinese groups have also made progress on developing
vaccines. CanSino Biologics has begun Phase 3 testing,
running trials in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Russia.
The Wuhan Institute of Biological Products has also
developed a vaccine that is clinical testing and is approved
for Phase 3 trials in the United Arab Emirates,
Peru and Morocco despite volunteers experiencing side
effects such as fevers. A partner company has a promising
second vaccine that could be available in 2021.
The Chinese government gave its approval to provide
the two experimental vaccines to hundreds of thousands
of its citizens.
German and Swedish-based companies are also working
on developing treatments that are in Phase 2 and
Phase 3 trials.
Last August, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced
that healthcare regulators had approved a
vaccine named Sputnik V before Phase 3 trials had even
begun. After testing the vaccine, Russian scientists found
that Sputnik yielded antibodies to the coronavirus, but
causes mild side effects such as weakness and muscle
pain.
Students feel that covid-19 vaccinations are a necessary
step to lowering cases, but would be hesitant to
receive the vaccine in its first round of approval for the
public.
“Personally I wouldn’t be one of the first people to get
the vaccine if it was released right now due to the fact
that I live with people with weaker immune systems,”
junior Kristine Shahbazyan said.
“Once more people get the vaccine and it is deemed
safe I would a hundred percent get it. Vaccines are
important in lowering covid cases but wearing masks is
the first step. If everyone wore a mask and started social
distancing our cases would drop.”
“If the vaccine was released right now I would be
slightly skeptical about the safety of it. However, if enough
people received it and walked out with only minor side
effects, I would get it, no questions asked,” junior Nicole
Gasparian said.
STEPS TO A SAFE VACCINE
Before any vaccine gets final approval from the Food and Drug adminstration, it must undergo a series of rigorous tests and ultimately shown to be safe, effective and beneficial.
PRETRIAL
TESTING
Immune response
determined in animals
Drug is tested on cell and
and given to mice and rats
to see if it produces an
immune response.
PHASE
1
Safety and dosage:
100-200 volunteers
Determines vaccine’s
effect on cells, whether it
works, whether there are
side effects and the
correct dosage.
PHASE
2
Response simulation:
Several hundred volunteers
Determines immune system
response and short-term side
effects. The FDA reports only
33% of treatments make it to
the next phase.
PHASE
3
Large scale testing:
Thousands of volunteers
Compares how people who
get the vaccine compare to
those who don’t and determines
the most common
side effects.
THE MIRROR | INFOGRAPHIC
SOURCE | CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL