The path to the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine

Abstract

The development of vaccines for viral infections has been an empirical and iterative process based on the use of complete, attenuated or inactivated viruses. The dizzying pandemic of COVID-19 has spurred an enormous effort to develop vaccines against SARS-CoV-2. Once the SARS-CoV-2 genome sequence was available in mid-January, different laboratories began the journey in search of a vaccine. SARS-CoV-2 vaccine research worldwide is testing the following technologies: nucleic acid vaccines (DNA and RNA), recombinant protein vaccines, viral vector-based vaccines, live attenuated vaccines, and inactivated vaccines. Currently, ten vaccines are in clinical trials, and 110 more, are in preclinical stages in twelve countries. Although the development of a viral vaccine takes an average of five to ten years, in the current crisis, multiple actors from various nations have coordinated so that a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine is ready in the shortest possible time, even before one year has elapsed. AZD1222, the adenovirus vector vaccine which encodes SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (S), developed by the Jenner Institute and the Oxford Vaccine Group, both from the University of Oxford, England, is the most promising candidate.