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COVID-19 Q10
How are vaccines developed and why did the process take longer for COVID-19 versus other diseases like H1N1?
Excellent Candidate Approach
Vaccine development happens in stages. After a vaccine is first produced, using an inactive version of the virus, phase 1 involves giving the vaccine to a small number of volunteers to assess its safety, check the dosage, and confirm that it generates an immune response. Phase 2 involves giving the vaccine to 100s of volunteers to further check its safety profile. These volunteers will have a range of characteristics, whilst the volunteers in phase 1 will only be healthy young adults. Phase 3 involves giving the vaccine to thousands of volunteers, both to further check its safety, and to investigate its effectiveness against a similar group of people who receive a placebo. Phase 3 trials will happen across multiple sites. Developing a vaccine for COVID-19 took longer than it did for other diseases because there were no licensed vaccines for any coronaviruses at the outset of production - whereas for H1N1, producers could use existing vaccines for seasonal flu and adapt these, (as H1N1 is a type of influenza).
Vaccine development happens in stages. After a vaccine is first produced, using an inactive version of the virus, phase 1 involves giving the vaccine to a small number of volunteers to assess its safety, check the dosage, and confirm that it generates an immune response. Phase 2 involves giving the vaccine to 100s of volunteers to further check its safety profile. These volunteers will have a range of characteristics, whilst the volunteers in phase 1 will only be healthy young adults. Phase 3 involves giving the vaccine to thousands of volunteers, both to further check its safety, and to investigate its effectiveness against a similar group of people who receive a placebo. Phase 3 trials will happen across multiple sites. Developing a vaccine for COVID-19 took longer than it did for other diseases because there were no licensed vaccines for any coronaviruses at the outset of production - whereas for H1N1, producers could use existing vaccines for seasonal flu and adapt these, (as H1N1 is a type of influenza).