Making a virus vaccine is a time-consuming process. First scientists must find an agent resembling the micro-organism that causes the disease. This is often a diluted version of the microbe, its surface proteins, or its toxins. This teaches the host body to identify the threat and destroy it. But this process can take decades. However, we don’t have the luxury of time. American scientists are planning to make a Covid-19 vaccine in 16 weeks.
How Could They Possibly Make a Covid-19 Vaccine in 16 Weeks?
Executive vice president, director of Vaccine & Immunotherapy Center at Wistar Institute in Philadelphia David Weiner says we can. That’s because when China released the genetic sequence this opened new doors of opportunity.
American scientists hope to make a coronavirus vaccine in 16 weeks, by manipulating the virus code. First, they plan to convert its ribo-nucleic acid (RNA) code into DNA snippets. Then they plan to inject these snippets into a host’s skin, where skin cells will adopt them. These cells will convert the DNA sequences into the same proteins as the coronavirus infections produce. They will teach the host to recognize the Covid-19 virus and destroy it.
Sounds Good But How Do We Know It Will Work?
David Weiner and his team developed their method after the 2014 Ebola virus outbreak. It worked, and they were able to go from no vaccine to a clinically tested vaccine in 18 months. However, this is still too slow to stop Covid-19 in its tracks.
David Weiner and his colleagues have a plan to make a Covid-19 vaccine in 16 weeks (4 months). They plan to do parallel testing to find out which genetic sequences train the host’s immune system fastest. Then they will move into animal testing as fast as they can. They will work in parallel on up-scaling to the levels necessary to mass-inoculate humans. We hope and trust they will find an answer to Covid-19.
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1 Comment
But these COVID deaths more than 3/4 will be people with heart disease and strokes who just happen to have COVID 19 as well