Coronavirus vaccine: Why does it take so long? (COVID-19) - Doctor Explains

Why does it takes so long to make a vaccine for the Coronavirus? Bluntly, because it is incredibly hard to do and if mistakes are made a vaccine can be dangerous!

Now let’s start with the question "what is a vaccine?" A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease. Or in other words it’s a medicine which makes you immune to a certain disease.
A vaccine contains bacteria or a virus in a weakened state, death state or in very little amounts. The idea here is that this bacteria or virus can’t actually make you sick, but does start an immune respons. Through this immune response you build immunity. So when you would later encounter the “real” bacteria or virus, your immune system is ready for it. And it will eradicate the virus or bacteria quickly, without you becoming terribly ill.

Unfortunately it takes a long time to make an vaccine. For example the vaccine against SARS in 2003 took 20 months before it could be tested on humans.
It takes so long because making a safe and effective vaccine requires a lot of steps and testing.
Now first off the virus needs to be weakened, but not too much because there still needs to be an immune response. Next up it needs to be tested on lab animals. Usually mice. This takes approximately 3 months. Afterwards the vaccine needs to be tested on apes, because their DNA is closest to human DNA. And therefore their immune systems responds closely to ours. This process also takes about 3 months. After these 3 months we need to observe if the immunity the vaccine gave the apes remains persistent.
Luckily there is also some good news here. The coronavirus seems to be a very stable virus. This makes it way easier to produce a vaccine which will give us persistent immunity.

The next step is purifying the vaccine and making it safe; we are talking purity, quality and dosage. This is especially important because the production of the vaccine will be increased.
At first it is made in a lab, but once ready it will be produced in a bioreactor. During this step many choices need to be made. For example in which form you want to offer the vaccine; liquid or lyophilized?
So you can imagine it takes a while before a vaccine is mass-produced and available. That is why most experts estimate it can take upwards of 1 to even 2 years from now until a vaccine will be available.

This brings us to the coronavirus vaccines which are currently developed all over the world. There currently are tens of trails in different stages of their development. Which is many to discuss here in this video. The important part is that among these trails some have the potential to eventually develop an effective and safe vaccine.
However which trail and when, can’t possibly be said at time time. But I will keep you updated. As soon as any of these trails show tremendous results I will let you know.

For now it is important we educate ourselves on the coronavirus, so we can stay as safe as possible. You can do this by watching my playlist containing everything you need to know on the coronavirus. You can find these videos here:
1. Coronavirus the numbers: https://youtu.be/lMHi5CBJoLQ
2. FAQ coronavirus: https://youtu.be/KIJMFSpLzQ8
3. Stop the spread: https://youtu.be/QX9YeVPC7w4
4. Curing the Coronavirus: https://youtu.be/Q3vfj4kcul4

Coronavirus playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIJMFSpLzQ8&list=PLaG3Bo3L0gX4M4gomuYMNR1MdlNWWkk6A

Thanks for watching and make sure to subscribe for future videos on medication and medical topics!

- Disclaimer: this video is meant purely informational! This is not medical advice! If you are looking for medical advice always contact your own doctor. -

Literature:
1: RIVM. (2020). Nieuw coronavirus (COVID-19). Find it here: https://www.rivm.nl/coronavirus/covid-19
2: CDC. (2020). Coronavirus (COVID-19). Find it here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
3: Duddu P. (2020). Coronavirus treatment: Vaccines/drugs in the pipeline for COVID-19. Find it here: https://www.clinicaltrialsarena.com/analysis/coronavirus-mers-cov-drugs/
4: Nu.nl (2020) Waarom duurt het zo lang om een vaccin tegen corona te maken? | NU.nl. Find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DJMrAP6X2s

* The images in this video are used for educational purposes only.

Music:
1: Divkid. Dusk
2: Emily A. Sprague. Meeting Again
3: Ikson, New Day

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Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry, https://amzn.to/2PFGidh
Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology, https://amzn.to/3inL6jM
Human Anatomy & Physiology, https://amzn.to/2DHlHCT
Oxford Handbook of Clinical Specialties, https://amzn.to/3fU854s
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