Scientists worldwide are researching a vaccine against the corona virus. Experts disagree how long the development will take.
OfMarkus Bär and Angelika Kleinhenz
As the coronavirus spreads faster and faster worldwide, the question of when a vaccine against the disease is available is becoming more and more important. But there are very different statements about this. Professor Tino Schwarz, for example, is the chief physician of the Institute for Laboratory Medicine at the Würzburg Mitte Clinic, and thinks that it may take years before such a product is available in large quantities.
Coronavirus: will it still be years before there is a vaccine?
“With the shingles vaccine, we started in 2007 with phase 2 – in which an agent is already being tested on a larger number of human subjects. The vaccine was approved in 2018. This is the normal course of time. You have to be able to prove that what is new to the market, is effective and safe to use, “says the doctor. And for the dengue vaccine, for example, the manufacturer first had to build a large production plant for a few billion euros. “It took three years.”
In China however, one speaks of months rather than years as units of time: it takes at least three months for a vaccine to be effective, said renowned Chinese epidemiologist Li Lanjun. So far, five strains of pathogens have been isolated. “Two are very good for developing a vaccine.”
Chinese researcher: Vaccine could be developed in a few months
For example, the hospital at Tongji University in Shanghai is working on a vaccine together with Stermirna Therapeutics. According to the company, the production of the samples would take no longer than 40 days.
Research and development of a vaccine usually actually takes two to three years before it can be used, said Xu Wenbo, director of the Beijing Institute for Viral Control and Prevention. But: Under emergency conditions and with “priority approval”, a new vaccine can also be developed in a few months.
The corona virus can be detected with a quick test
One hope is that the new virus is closely related to the Sars virus, which was rampant worldwide in 2002 and 2003. And therefore possibly react to substances with which the pandemic at that time could be combated. In Germany is also being researched at high pressure. For example, Professor Christian Drosten, director at the Institute of Virology at the Berlin Charité, has a detection method for the coronavirus developed. The genetic material of the virus can be identified in saliva samples within four hours. It seems to be becoming increasingly clear that the new virus is native to the Great Horseshoe Bat bat genus. The variants of the virus are constantly changing due to genetic recombinations. Many new combinations are safe for humans – but obviously Sars and the new virus are not.
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