Question

write down about the current trails to develop a vaccine(s) against COVID 19.

Answer 1

As WHO and partners work together on the response -

- tracking the pandemic, advising on critical interventions, distributing vital medical supplies to those in need--- they are racing to find a vaccine.

There are now vaccines to prevent more than 20 life-threatening diseases, and work is ongoing at unprecedented speed to also make COVID-19 a vaccine-preventable disease.

There are currently more than 100 COVID-19 vaccine candidates under development, with a number of these in the human trial phase.

R&D ( Research and Development ) Blueprint:-

The R&D Blueprint was activated to
accelerate diagnostics, vaccines and
therapeutics for this novel coronavirus.

The Blueprint AIMS to improve
coordination between scientists and
global health professionals, accelerate
the research and development process,
and develop new norms and standards
to learn from and improve upon the
global response.

Draft landscape of COVID-18 vaccine candidates:-

The draft landscape of COVID-19
vaccine candidates contains information
on vaccine candidates collected through
public information like clinical trial
registries and information that were
directly provided by vaccine developers
to the WHO. The landscape is generally
updated twice a week, based on the
latest information, including those we
receive from scientists and research.

Vaccine target product profile:-

WHO has published the target product
profiles for COVID-19 vaccines, which
describes the preferred and minimally
acceptable profiles for human vaccines
for long term protection of persons at
high ongoing risk of COVID-19, and for
reactive use in outbreak settings with
rapid onset of immunity.

We have also
published the criteria for prioritization of
vaccines for clinical trials.

Criteria for COVID-19 vaccine prioritisation:-

The proposed attributes and criteria
provide considerations for the evaluation
and prioritization of cOVID-19 candidate
vaccines to be considered for further
development by WHO. The target
audience includes vaccine scientists,
product developers, manufacturers,
regulators and funding agencies.

The 4 critical elements of WHO global R&D efforts in detail:-

1. Harnessing a broad global coalition to develop and evaluate candidate vaccines as quickly and safely as possible:-

WHO’s core function is to direct and coordinate international efforts through the:

• Global collaboration and cooperation;
• Development of robust methods;
• Working to accelerate progress and avoid duplication of research efforts;
• Coordinating an unparalleled effort to rapidly and simultaneously assess many vaccines.

2. Mapping candidate vaccines and their progress across the world:-

Over 120 vaccines have been proposed across the world and WHO is tracking details in a landscape exercise on their type and progress.

3. Defining the desired characteristics of safe and effective vaccines to combat the pandemic

To guide the efforts of vaccine developers, WHO has drawn up a Global Target Product Profile target product profiles (TPPs) for COVID-19.

This document outlines the minimum and desired attributes of safe and effective vaccines. The TPPs cover two types of vaccines: vaccines for the long-term protection of people at higher risk of COVID-19 such as healthcare workers; and vaccines for use in response to outbreaks with rapid onset of immunity.

4. Coordinating clinical trials across the world – giving humanity the best chance of safe and effective vaccines for all:-

WHO is proposing to massively accelerate the evaluation of vaccines. Its expert group has designed a large international randomized controlled clinical trial to enable the simultaneous evaluation of the benefits and risks of different vaccines at sites with sufficiently high rates of the disease. This will ensure a faster turnaround of results.

WHO expert groups are also considering the :-

✓Key criteria to help prioritize which vaccines should go into Phase II and III clinical trials;

✓A Phase 2b/3 protocol that can be used by all vaccine developers to shape their trial, which will enable real-time evaluation of the benefits and risks of each promising candidate vaccine.