Vaccine And Treatment Studies To Combat Coronavirus

After coronavirus became a global pandemic, vaccine and treatment studies for stopping the virus have gained speed

Many institutions continue their research on a vaccine and a drug against the coronavirus outbreak, for which the whole world is fighting. As the outbreak became a global threat, the efforts have gained speed in several countries, notably in China and the USA. A vaccine or a treatment to be developed is important to boost up people’s immune systems and to eliminate the virus.

China, the starting point of the pandemic, shared the DNA sequence (deoksiribo nucleic acid) of the virus on January 11. Then, the researchers from all over the world copied the genetic structure of the virus and started their research. Having information on the DNA sequence of the coronavirus has speeded up the vaccine development process. The genetic structure of coronavirus, also called COVID-19, matched with SARS coronavirus, which had spread from China to the world about 18 years ago. Thus, the studies made for SARS provided an insight for the researches of today.

THE FIRST VACCINE TESTED ON HUMANS WAS DEVELOPED IN THE USA

A drug company in Boston, USA developed a potential vaccine named “mRNA-1273” following the developments on the genetic sequence. It was the first coronavirus vaccine tested on humans. Researches in the USA were not only limited to that vaccine. Another drug company also announced producing a potential vaccine. The company aims to start clinical trials in the USA, China and South Korea; and if it achieves results, the company will produce a million dose of vaccine by the end of 2020.

A vaccine developed against coronavirus in China was confirmed on March 17. In the meantime, there was also researches carried out in Israel. Accordingly, a potential vaccine, the adapted version of the IBV vaccine, which was developed against infectious bronchitis caused by the coronavirus in poultry, was claimed to be effective against the coronavirus in humans.

THE EFFECTS OF THE DRUGS PROGRESS POSITIVELY

In addition to the vaccine projects, drug research also continues rapidly. China allowed three drugs to be tested since the pandemic first appeared in the country. The anti-viral drug called “Favipiravir” was tested on 70 patients in Guangdong, China and it was reported that the drug reduces the recovery period in mild cases from 11 to 4 days. Thus, Favipiravir became the first registered coronavirus drug. Additionally, a drug called “Remdesivir” produced by an American drug company was tested on 761 patients at the hospitals of Wuhan, China. The drug had also been tested on a person carrying the virus in the USA and it was reported that the patient’s status was improved.

RESEARCHES ARE ALSO CARRIED OUT IN TURKEY

Next to these developments around the world, researches are also conducted in Turkey. Ankara University has been putting great efforts into drug, vaccine and diagnostic kit projects to fight against the coronavirus. Furthermore, the T.R. Ministry of Health brought drugs from

China and distributed them to 40 cities. They are planned to be used for coronavirus patients in intensive care units. And the Ministry’s Vaccine Institute rolled up the sleeves to develop a vaccine for the virus. The T.R. Ministry of Finance plans to create a fund for the research.