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Recently, two coronavirus vaccines have proven effective in triggering an immune response in humans. According to the doctors, both drugs led to a similar response as the actual virus.

History

Coronavirus cases have been increasing ever since the virus’s outbreak in Wuhan, China last year. The novel virus belongs to the SARS family and was said to have spread from bats to humans. Soon after the outbreak, it became a global pandemic effecting a large number of countries across the globe.

The governments pushed majority of the nations into lockdown and implemented strict precautionary measures to control the spread of the disease. This adversely affected the world’s economy even causing the oil market to crash.

Various scientists and research groups have been actively working to find a treatment plan for the infection. Numerous attempts have also been made for developing a vaccine. Although, a number of potential candidates are in the human trial phases, FDA has not approved any of them yet. Researchers believe it will take a few more months for the vaccine to be available in the market.

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Vaccine Trials

Recently two human trials testing different vaccines have produced a fruitful outcome. Both drugs were able to trigger an immune response similar to the actual virus in humans. The results showed that antibodies and white blood cell production in the body significantly increased to fight off the foreign bodies.

The human trial for the first vaccine was held in Britain. It involved over thousand adult subjects who were given a shot of the vaccine and the results were analyzed. The findings showed that the developed drug was able to induce a T white blood cell immune response. It also led to the production of strong antibodies in the body.

The second trial was held in China and involved around five hundred people. Like the trial in Britain, the Chinese study subjects were also given a dose of the vaccine. The results showed a powerful immune response in all of the volunteers.The findings from both studies were published in a science journal called The Lancet medical journal.

Future Implications of the Studies

Even if the vaccines do not prove effective in the more advanced phases, the research can prove to be an effective and important stepping stone for the ultimate development of the vaccine for the novel corona virus. Future research can work on, and improve the methods employed by the current studies to increase the probability of success in the vaccine development endeavors.

Also read: Moderna Produces a Safe and Effective Vaccine for Coronavirus

The lead authors of both studies stated that there were very few negative side effects observed in the subjects. They further added that the research is promising. However, more work needs to be done before the vaccine can be made available to the public. Particularly, the drugs need to be modified in order to reduce the intensity of their side effects in older people, who are more likely to die from the coronavirus infection.

Sarah Gilbert a co author of the study from the university of oxford said that if approved by the FDA, the vaccine can be easily produced on a large scale, given the procedure the development process follows.