Astrazeneca, Biontech / Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson – these are the corona vaccines that we know. BUT: The market is much bigger. And research is being carried out on more than a hundred corona vaccines. Exaggerated? No, says science.
This research could save the world from the next catastrophe.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has so far recognized seven vaccines as effective and safe – and it is reviewing more. Around two dozen vaccines are in use worldwide, including some from Iran, Cuba and China. And research is in full swing.
According to the WHO, more than 130 corona vaccines are already being clinically tested, and almost 200 more are in preclinical development.
Do you really need more than 300 corona vaccines?
“No” is the clear answer from tropical medicine specialist Jakob Cramer. He is head of clinical development at “Cepi”, a coalition of governments, WHO, vaccine manufacturers and foundations that promotes research into new vaccines. “Cepi” has co-financed around a dozen corona vaccines, including those from Moderna and AstraZeneca.
Even so, Cramer says the research is important. BECAUSE: “In vaccination research, 90 percent of the candidates usually fall by the wayside.”
Omikron variant shows challenges
The new omicron variant of the virus shows the challenges: The vaccines may have to be adapted for the best possible protection against the new virus variant. Moderna and Biontech are already researching possible adjustments and consider them to be possible by spring 2022.
Nevertheless, the basic rule is: The basic vaccination with the existing vaccines is highly effective and must be continued, says Annelies Wilder-Smith, professor for emerging infectious diseases at the “London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine”.
According to preliminary laboratory results, Biontech recently announced that three doses of their vaccine were necessary for adequate protection against Omikron.
The WHO emphasizes that by far the greatest number of infections relate to the delta variant, in which the available means protect very well. The more people have been vaccinated with the existing vaccines, the less new variants can form, says Florian Krammer, professor of vaccination science at the “Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York”.
PLUS: In people who become infected despite being vaccinated, the virus is likely to multiply more slowly than in those who have not been vaccinated.
Different countries need different vaccines
Apart from that, other types of vaccines are also needed.
▶ ︎ Poorer countries, for example, need products that, unlike those from Biontech / Pfizer and Moderna, can be kept for a long time even without freezing.
That is why the WHO encourages companies to research further. “Our job is to save as many lives as possible,” says WHO vaccination expert Bruce Aylward. Research is carried out in Germany, China, the USA, India, but also in Turkey, Vietnam, Thailand and other countries.
For a well-supplied country like Germany, the following applies: “We do have good corona vaccines. But the best is always the enemy of the good, ”says Cramer. Perhaps there will be a vaccine by 2022 that not only protects against serious illness, but also better protects against transmitting the virus.
▶ ︎ Research is also being carried out into how immunocompromised people can be better protected, or into vaccines that can be administered as nasal sprays. There is something like that as a flu vaccination in some countries.
The next pandemic is sure to come
As early as 2022, the starting position will also be very different from the development of the first corona vaccines: Then a large proportion of people should have antibodies against corona through vaccination or natural infection, says Cramer. Booster vaccinations in lower doses may be sufficient. “That would also achieve even better results in terms of tolerability.”
“Cepi” is aiming for a vaccine that protects against Sars-Cov-2 and other so-called beta coronaviruses at the same time.
Because it is clear to everyone: the next pandemic is sure to come – probably with a different respiratory virus. “We think a lot about what the next pandemic threat could be,” said Hamilton Bennett, director of vaccine access at US corona vaccine maker Moderna.
The WHO keeps a list of around a dozen pathogens that could pose a threat.
Moderna is researching the properties of almost all of these virus families and is already conducting studies. “If a dangerous strain of virus emerges in the family, we can be very quick,” said Bennett. Then a ready-to-use vaccine could be ready in 100 days or even less.
This is possible thanks to the mRNA technology used for the first time in some Covid 19 vaccines, says Bennett. In the case of a different virus, a different blueprint would be used and the procedure would remain the same.
Cramer also considers vaccines with mRNA technology to be a turning point in the vaccination business: “What they can do is spectacular. They can be adapted very quickly if new variants appear. I think there is still a lot of potential in there. “
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