The vaccine war is accelerating. Six months after the discovery of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in Wuhan, no less than ten trials of vaccines have already started on humans. And at least ten more are ready to launch in early July. Never seen.
In three phases, these tests will check that the vaccine is well tolerated by the human body, that it is suitable for different patient profiles and that it is effective in the event of contamination. And to develop their precious cocktail, the laboratories have the choice between four different technologies, from that which has been used for a long time to a brand new, attractive, but not yet approved for human vaccines.
Four technologies for a vaccine
First, the traditional technology stay in the race. It consists in attenuating the disease virus by chemical treatment before injecting it. It allows the immune system to develop specific antibodies against the real virus. These vaccines are effective, but time-consuming to develop. It is the technology adopted by many Chinese laboratories, such as Sinopharm.
The viral protein technology is different: it involves injecting only proteins, similar to those that make up the surface of the virus. Upon contact, the immune system normally makes antibodies. But with…
