Challenges with COVID‑19 vaccine development UPSC

There have been several unique challenges with COVID‑19 vaccine development.

1. The urgency to create a vaccine for COVID‑19 led to compressed schedules that shortened the standard vaccine development timeline.
2. Timelines for conducting clinical research – normally a sequential process requiring years – are being compressed into safety, efficacy, and dosing trials running simultaneously over months, potentially compromising safety assurance.
3. The rapid development and urgency of producing a vaccine for the COVID‑19 pandemic were expected to increase the risks and failure rate of delivering a safe, effective vaccine.
4. Research at universities is obstructed by physical distancing and closing of laboratories.
5. Vaccine developers have to invest resources internationally to find enough participants for Phase II–III clinical trials when the virus has proved to be a “moving target” of changing transmission rates across and within countries, forcing companies to compete for trial participants.
6. Clinical trial organizers also may encounter people unwilling to be vaccinated due to vaccine hesitancy or disbelief in the science of vaccine technology and its ability to prevent infection.

While the availability of newer technologies has facilitated development, there are several challenges on the way including limited understanding of the pathophysiology, targeting humoral or mucosal immunity, lack of suitable animal model, poor success of human severe acute respiratory syndrome/Middle East Respiratory Syndrome vaccines, limited efficacy of influenza vaccines, and immune exaggeration with animal coronavirus vaccines.