Coronavirus Vaccine updates: From AstraZeneca to Moderna, here's current status of COVID-19 vaccines in development

According to a recent report by the World Health Organisation (WHO), there are around two dozen coronavirus vaccine prototypes from over 150 candidates across the world, that have been approved for human clinical trials. Amid all these media reports about coronavirus vaccines, it is easy to get confused about which vaccines are in what stages of development and what chances do they stand for achieving success.

DNA India brings you the latest updates on the coronavirus vaccine development and the current status of several of the vaccine prototypes that are being ideated, developed, and tested:

AstraZeneca's AZD1222 (Oxford University's COVID-19 vaccine candidate)

An important update regarding the vaccine candidate being developed by the University of Oxford, AstraZeneca pharmaceuticals, and IQVIA - the AZD1222, formerly called the (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19), can be expected today. The Lancet medical journal is expected to publish the data from the Phase-I clinical trials of the vaccine that is being developed against the SARS-CoV-2 novel coronavirus.

This vaccine prototype is considered to be the most advanced one among all the samples currently in development. It is currently in large-scale Phase-III trials, which typically involve more participants, including a control group, and test effectiveness of the vaccine to prevent the disease (an "interventional" trial), while monitoring for adverse effects at the optimal dose.

This prototype was developed at the University of Oxford and the Jenner Institute.

ICMR supervising efficacy of BCG vaccine

The India Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is all set to conduct a study to evaluate the effectiveness of the BCG vaccination in preventing morbidity and mortality due to COVID-19 in elderly individuals between 60 to 95 years of age living in COVID-19 hotspots in India.

This study will be carried out in six states (sites) of the country--Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Delhi.

BCG is a vaccine against tuberculosis, with protective non-specific effects against other respiratory tract infections in in-vitro and in-vivo studies, and reported significant reductions in morbidity and mortality. The study uses the same BCG vaccine that is administered to newborn babies as a part of the National Immunization program for more than 50 years in this country.

The methodology of the study sample size is 1450 healthy individuals between 60 -95 years of age who will receive BCG vaccination while 725 individuals will be controls (without vaccination), who will be followed up for six months post-vaccination. The participants are elderly population from 60 - 80 years of age residing in red and orange zones (hotspots) for SARS-Cov2 infection.

AIIMS Delhi to start human trials for India's Covaxin

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Ethics Committee had on Saturday approved human clinical trials of the indigenously developed COVID-19 vaccine candidate Covaxin. The Phase-I trials will be conducted by AIIMS Delhi from today on 100 healthy volunteers aged between 18 and 55.

Healthy participants with no comorbidities and without a history of COVID-19 will be selected. The age group of the study population is 18 to 55 years. This would be a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. The volunteers will be kept under observation for a period of nearly 150 days.

Covaxin is developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Institute of Virology (NIV).

Moderna's mRNA-1273 vaccine to enter final stages of trials

American pharmaceutical firm Moderna's mRNA-1273 vaccine prototype, one of the leading candidates in the world, will enter the Phase-III of human clinical trials. It is currently in large-scale Phase-II trials, which evaluate immunogenicity, dose levels (efficacy based on biomarkers), and adverse effects of the candidate vaccine, typically in hundreds of people.

In the two phases of the human trials, Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccine has reportedly provoked safe immune responses in all 45 healthy volunteers. Now, in the third phase, the pharmaceutical firm's scientists will administer the vaccine to 30,000 volunteers, the biggest and the most crucial phase of human clinical trials for the vaccine as of yet.

According to the researchers, the mRNA-1237 vaccine dosage has been prepared using the genetic coding of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus itself. The way this vaccine functions is not by destroying the virus directly but by boosting the body's immune system to the point that the virus contamination can be effectively prevented.

The firm's researchers have claimed that the mRNA-1237 vaccine is even capable of developing antibodies more powerful than those found in patients who have recovered from COVID-19. A medium dosage of the medicine has shown good results, said Moderna's virologists.

This prototype was developed at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute.

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Confused about when a vaccine enters human trials? When will it hit the markets? Which prototypes are currently the top contenders for a safe and successful COVID-19 vaccine? All your questions are answered here:

A Guide to COVID-19 Vaccines: From Phase-I to Phase-III human trials, all you should know about top contenders, research