A UNITED States administration official said Tuesday that it had launched “Operation Warp Speed” (OWP) aiming to deliver 300 million COVID-19 vaccine doses by January, 2021. The US has invested heavily in manufacturing capacity as well as in plans and infrastructure for distributing it.
There are today more than 100 vaccines of various types in various stages of development around the world. Eight of them are now in early human trials in four countries.
Two are in the US – one developed by Moderna, Inc., funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; and another being developed by Innovio Pharmaceuticals, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.
Four other vaccines are now undergoing trials in China – one by CanSino Biologics supported by the People’s Liberation Army; two by the Beijing and Wuhan Institutes of Biological Products; and one by biotech firm Sinovac.
A vaccine is now in Phase 2 trials in the United Kingdom by the University of Oxford and Astra Zeneca. A partnership of Pfizer, German biotech firm BioNTech, and China’s Fosun Pharma is testing a vaccine in Germany.
Thenormalvaccineproduction process takes eight to 15 years – from research to preclinical preparation to clinical trials to government approval. After approval, the vaccine must be manufactured for broad use, and then distributed around the world.
For the COVID-19 pandemic, now raging in over 210 countries and territories, there will be need for billions of doses. America’s Operation Warp Speed seeks to produce enough doses for some 300 million Americans by early 2021. The Philippines has been assured by both the US and China that it will be among the earliest to receive their vaccines as soon as these are available.
But all this is conjecture at this time, for there is yet no vaccine confirmed by sufficient clinical tests and trials to be effective against COVID-19. We and the rest of the world are looking forward to that time – hopefully by this year’s end – when one or more of the vaccines now under advanced trials in four countries should be ready.
In the meantime, we must guard against COVID-19 as best as we can through the lockdowns and other restrictions now being enforced by the government and – of utmost importance – the precautions each individual must take for his or her own protection, notably distancing, wearing facemasks, and personal hygiene.
