Everything you need to know about the Covid-19 vaccine
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What is Covid-19 pandemic? And when did it start?
A novel strain of coronavirus was first detected in December 2019 in Wuhan. Wuhan is a city in China’s Hubei province with a population of 11 million. In December 2019, the city suffered from an outbreak of pneumonia without an obvious cause, and Covid-19 disease was discovered. The virus has now spread to over 200 countries and territories across the globe. Moreover, it was characterized as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March 2020.
As of 30 November 2020, there were over 62 million confirmed cases of coronavirus infection globally, with over a million reported deaths. And even though the disease started in China, the number of cases and deaths outside of China overtook those within the country.
This article gives a brief overview of the new virus, and provides answers to many questions you may have. For instance, you may have questions such as when will a vaccine be available, and how will the vaccine be distributed? We gathered a lot of information to answer all these questions in this article.
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Is there a Covid-19 vaccine that I can get today?
In the United States, there is not yet an authorized or approved vaccine to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The federal government, through Operation Warp Speed, has been continuously working to make a COVID-19 vaccine available as soon as possible. Also, the Center of Disease Control has been working closely with health departments and partners to develop vaccination plans for when a vaccine is available.
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When will a Covid-19 vaccine be available in the United States?
The goal is to deliver safe vaccines that work, with the first supply becoming available before the end of 2020. When a vaccine is approved in the United States, there may not be enough doses available for everyone. Supplies will increase over time, and all adults should be able to get vaccinated later in 2021. However, there will be no COVID-19 vaccine available for children until more studies are completed.
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What has been done to plan for the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines?
The federal government will oversee a centralized system to order, distribute, and track COVID-19 vaccines. All vaccines will be ordered through the Center of Disease Control. Also, vaccine providers will receive vaccines from a centralized distributor or directly from a vaccine manufacturer.
Many COVID-19 vaccine candidates are in development, and clinical trials are being conducted at the same time with large-scale manufacturing. Because the vaccine is expected by the end of 2020, it’s important to plan and prepare for a COVID-19 vaccination program. Examples of planning efforts include:
- Establishing and testing logistics plans with manufacturers and commercial partners that are part of Center of Disease Control’s centralized vaccine delivery system
- Coordinating the first distribution of vaccines and needed supplies
- Ordering processes for additional doses of the vaccine after the first supply has been shipped
- Receiving, storing, and handling vaccines properly at very specific temperatures
- Deciding who should receive a vaccine first, based on national recommendations, if there are not enough doses of the vaccine for everyone
- Giving the vaccines in a safe way during an ongoing pandemic
- Reporting on vaccine inventory, administration, and safety using a variety of new and enhanced data systems
- Expanding safety surveillance through new systems and additional information sources, as well as scaling up existing safety monitoring systems
- Developing plans to assess vaccine effectiveness, which means how well the vaccines protect against COVID-19 under real-life conditions
- Making sure timely, credible, and clear communication is provided to the public and stakeholders around all aspects of the vaccination program
The goal of the U.S. government is to have enough COVID-19 vaccine doses for all people in the United States who choose to be vaccinated.
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How will the Covid-19 vaccines be distributed in the U.S.?
The Center of Disease Control is working with state, tribal, territorial, and local jurisdictions to develop COVID-19 vaccination plans for these areas. CDC released a playbook on September 16, 2020, to provide specific information to consider during vaccination plan development. The playbook was updated on October 30, 2020.
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The Center of Disease Control has also worked with private partners, such as chain and networks of independent pharmacies, and other federal agencies (e.g., the Indian Health Service) on plans to more widely distribute COVID-19 vaccines. For example, CDC is working with pharmacies to offer on-site COVID-19 vaccination services for residents in long-term care settings, including skilled nursing facilities, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities where most individuals are over 65 years of age.
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Is there going to be a national campaign to address people’s concerns about the Covid-19 vaccine?
The Vaccinate with Confidence is the Center of Disease Control strategic framework. It is currently being customized to address the unique information and health equity needs created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, this strategic framework will strive to support public and healthcare personnel acceptance of future COVID-19 vaccines.
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Will there be enough vaccines for everyone?
At first, when FDA approves a vaccine, there may be a limited supply. This would mean that not everyone will be able to be vaccinated right away. It is understandable how concerning this would be for people, especially for those who are at increased risk for serious illness from Covid-19.
That is why the federal government began investing earlier this year in select vaccine manufacturers. The federal government aims to help manufacturers increase their ability to quickly make and distribute the vaccine. This will allow the United States to start with as much vaccine as possible and continually increase the supply in the weeks and months to follow. The goal is for everyone to be able to easily get a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as large quantities are available. Moreover, several thousand vaccination providers will be available, including doctors’ offices, retail pharmacies, hospitals, and federally qualified health centers.
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How many Covid-19 vaccines are under development?
Multiple COVID-19 vaccines are under development. Also, as of November 24, 2020, human clinical trials are in progress or being planned for five COVID-19 vaccines in the United States.
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Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) are two diseases caused by coronaviruses. They are closely related to the virus that causes COVID-19. Researchers began working on developing vaccines for these diseases after they were discovered in 2003 and 2012, respectively. None of the SARS vaccines ever made it past the first stages of development and testing. That, in large part, was due to lack of interest because the virus disappeared. One MERS vaccine (MVA-MERS-S) successfully completed a phase 1 clinical trial in 2019. Lessons learned from this earlier vaccine research have been used to inform strategies for developing a COVID-19 vaccine.
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Why is it taking so long to develop a COVID-19 vaccine? It didn’t take that long to develop the flu vaccine?
When a new flu strain is identified, like H1N1 in 2009, vaccine manufacturers can use the same processes that are used to make the annual seasonal flu vaccine, saving valuable time. Unlike flu, coronaviruses do not yet have licensed vaccines or processes to build on. In addition, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is a new virus. So entirely new vaccines must be developed and tested to ensure they work and are safe. There are many steps in the vaccine testing and approval process. Thus, multiple agencies and groups in the United States are working together to make sure that a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine is available as quickly as possible.
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References:
Center of disease control, 2020
