Science and tech spotlight: COVID-19 vaccine development
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Contributor(s):
- United States. Government Accountability Office, issuing body. United States. Congress, issuing body.
- Publication:
- [Washington, DC] : United States Government Accountability Office, May 2020
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- COVID-19 Vaccines -- therapeutic use Drug Development United States
- Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- Why this matters. SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, has killed millions worldwide. Vaccines can help save lives and speed economic recovery. Developing a safe, effective vaccine is a complicated, costly, and typically lengthy process that has historically had a low success rate. U.S.-funded efforts have made several vaccines available to the public in record time. What is it? Vaccines protect people from disease by triggering the immune system to produce antibodies that will fight the pathogen attacking the body. In the case of COVID-19, the pathogen is the virus SARS-CoV-2. Developing a vaccine is an expensive and typically lengthy process because it involves a rigorous series of steps to first identify a potential vaccine "candidate," then assess it for safety and effectiveness. Billions of vaccine doses designed to fight COVID-19 have already been administered as of June 2021 across the U.S. and the world, and death rates in some countries have dropped dramatically. How does it work? A vaccine can use a pathogen that has been modified to be safe or a molecule that resembles a part of the pathogen, triggering the immune system to produce antibodies. If the vaccinated person is exposed later to the pathogen, their body will produce those antibodies again, increasing their chances of fighting off infection. Development starts with identifying a pathogen "target," such as a protein, that can induce an immune reaction. Researchers create a vaccine candidate similar to that target that will induce production of antibodies effective against the pathogen. The vaccine candidate moves through stages of development, assessment, authorization, and licensure (fig. 1). Under normal circumstances, the entire process typically takes 10 to 15 years, with more than 65 percent of candidates failing, according to an MIT study. There has been an effort to expedite this process for COVID-19 vaccines. More than 250 COVID-19 vaccines have been in development globally. Of those, the federal government awarded billions of dollars to companies for the development, manufacture, or distribution of six vaccine candidates under a partnership between the Departments of Defense (DOD), and Health and Human Services (HHS). These six candidates use three different "platforms," or mechanisms to prompt the body to produce antibodies (fig. 2). The three platforms generate proteins that mimic part of the spike protein found on the surface of SARS-CoV-2. The spike protein alone does not cause a COVID-19 infection but may be sufficient to produce an immune response. The first platform uses a molecule called mRNA, which is specifically coded to generate proteins that induce an immune response. This is a newer method of vaccine development. The second platform uses recombinant proteins, which are produced by genetically engineered bacteria or other cells, to induce an immune response. This platform is already being used successfully against other viruses, such as the human papillomavirus (HPV), which can cause cervical cancer. The third platform uses another virus--called adenovirus--removed of its infectious aspects, making it safe as a "vector" to deliver a piece of a pathogen to produce proteins that induce an immune response. This platform is being used in U.S. clinical trials for HIV and Ebola vaccine candidates.
- Copyright:
- The National Library of Medicine believes this item to be in the public domain. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (2 unnumbered pages))
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 9918250309706676 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918250309706676