Covid-19: The Race For a Vaccine. - Raj Vangani

The bell rang on Thursday, March 12th, 2020. I sluggishly left school with heaps of homework and hours of studying on my mind. To my surprise, in just two short hours, not only would my hectic work schedule be put on pause, but so would life as I knew it. What was initially celebrated as a surprise break for us students, quickly turned into an unforeseen national pandemic, with a multitude of detrimental economical, health-related, and social impacts.

Consequently, the desperate race for a vaccine has begun. And the checkered flag seems to be approaching for some contenders.

That being said, in order to avoid the spread of misinformation surrounding this highly sought-after weapon against the virus, it is critical for the general population to understand the lengthy process of developing an effective vaccine.

There are six stages: exploratory, pre-clinical, clinical development, regulatory review and approval, manufacturing, and quality control.

In the exploratory stage, research is conducted to formulate a vaccine. Next comes the pre-clinical stage, in which the prototype is tested on laboratory animals. The final stage of testing the vaccine’s effectiveness and safety occurs during clinical development. Clinical development, the lengthiest part of the process, consists of three phases that can take years to complete. In Phase I, few people are given the vaccine. In Phase II, individuals within the age group most affected by the disease are trialed with the vaccine. Finally, in Phase III, doses are allocated to thousands of people.

The three stages of, approval, manufacturing, and quality control all have to deal with distributing the vaccine and making sure it is certified by the FDA for use by the general public.

This timeline generally takes around ten to fifteen years. However, this disease has shaken the modern world more than any other, and some can no longer bear the wait.

So the question arises: Is it ethical to speed up the vaccine development process of SARS-CoV-2? I think so.

We can not survive even another couple months with this pandemic raging. Day after day, businesses are shut down and people are put on the street. Day after day students glaze over their screens, instead of actively learning in the classroom. Day after day tens of thousands of new admits are flooding the hospitals. Day after day thousands die a lonely death. This national disaster needs an end soon, before it does even more damage that cannot be undone.

Conversely, the side effects of an impromptu vaccine are plentiful. In clinical development, trials of the vaccine span over many years to test symptoms of the vaccine that may develop over time.

With a sped up vaccine it would be nearly impossible to thoroughly test the vaccine. Additionally, in terms of a quality control and manufacturing process, facilities for mass production would accelerate the production process, resulting in a higher chance of releasing a lower quality vaccine.

It would be ironic if the supposed solution to the pandemic spawned a larger issue than the virus itself.

Nevertheless, the time is now to act. The vaccines currently under development are showing positive signs of being safe, with high recovery rates and low side effects. With the world almost at its breaking point, it is time to take a risk with a quickened vaccine. Reluctance to take the plunge will continue to act as a buffer to what could be a great success if we continue to allow it to do so.