Where do we stand in making it publicly available?
Is there a vaccine for COVID-19?
Medical professionals and scientists are testing a variety of current drugs and vaccines for efficacy against the novel coronavirus. Among the treatment options being considered are drugs normally used to combat HIV, influenza, and malaria, at times in combination with antibiotics to prevent bacterial superinfection. Results of such research are coming in fast. Basic research on how the virus interacts with human proteins can also help identify drugs and vaccines. These are, however, initial indications, and the efficacy of these drugs will need more time and trials to be validated. Therefore do not consume medications not recommended by your doctor!
Medical professionals and scientists are testing a variety of current drugs and vaccines for efficacy against the novel coronavirus. Among the treatment options being considered are drugs normally used to combat HIV, influenza, and malaria, at times in combination with antibiotics to prevent bacterial superinfection. Results of such research are coming in fast. Basic research on how the virus interacts with human proteins can also help identify drugs and vaccines. These are, however, initial indications, and the efficacy of these drugs will need more time and trials to be validated. Therefore do not consume medications not recommended by your doctor!
- Mahase, Covid-19: what treatments are being investigated?, BMJ (2020)
How are COVID-19 vaccines being developed?
The novel coronavirus-2 uses one of its proteins to bind to a molecular receptor on human cells. This interaction is critical to successful infection. The human immune system produces “antibodies” in response to infections. Antibodies naturally produced by our immune system against the novel coronavirus reduce the interaction of the virus with its human receptor. This provides ideas and candidates for drug as well as vaccine development.
- Okba et al., SARS-CoV-2 specific antibody responses in COVID-19 patients, medRxiv (2020)
- Ju et al., Potent human neutralizing antibodies elicited by SARS-CoV-2 infection, bioRxiv (2020)