Coronavirus Vaccine and treatment: Have researchers made a breakthrough?

  Key points: Coronavirus Vaccine, Coronavirus Treatment

Numerous efforts for preparing Coronavirus vaccine are being made after the recent outbreak in China. Various drug makers and pharmaceutical companies across the world are racing to come up with vaccine in order to halt the deadly novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV. But, is this as simple as it seems to be? Let’s analyse the worldwide efforts made by scientists and researchers to manage this situation.

       Groups of scientists in Thailand treated an affected woman using a cocktail of anti-virals used for treating HIV and Flu. According to the Health Ministry of Thailand, the lab results showing positive on coronavirus became negative within 48 hours. The woman was exhausted before treatment, but she became able to sit up in her bed after the treatment. The doctors actually combined HIV antiviral (lopinavir and ritonavir) with anti-flu medicine (oseltamivir). The Health ministry has been awaiting further research to scientifically prove the findings (CTV, 2020).

       Before this progress in Thailand, Chinese scientists have also been utilizing HIV drugs to manage the coronavirus. According to China’s National Health Commission, Koletra (a combination of lopinavir and ritonavir) seemed to be effective for restricting activities of coronavirus. Zhang Dingyu, president of Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital, believed that Koletra could be helpful in early stages of coronavirus where it might prevent the infection from becoming fatal (Lee and Hsueh, 2020). But, the addition of the flu drugs in HIV drugs (Kaletra) by scientists in Thailand seemed to have produced even better results.

       The research studies on coronaviruses have revealed that these viruses seem like knobby balls covered in protrusions which widen at the tips. These spike proteins are able to accommodate in a receptor present in the lung membrane called ACE-2, which enables the virus to enter into the body. The group of researchers at NIH (National Institute of Health) in Maryland is believed to prepare an altered version of a crucial section of coronavirus in order to encourage the body to develop antibodies against this disease (Beaumont, 2020). So, the antibody defence is expected to prevent the coronavirus from entering the body.

       In spite of having these early achievements, the proper vaccine of coronavirus may require years for the testing and development before it can be used at large scale. This means that the vaccines proposed currently are likely to have a limited role in the current coronavirus outbreak in China. Researchers need more time to fully test the vaccine before confidently applying it to humans (Dr Gregory Poland, the director at the Vaccine Research group, the Mayo Clinic). So, to be more practical, the claims regarding the development of coronavirus vaccines can be thought of as misleading.

Sources

Beaumont, P. (2020). Researchers make strides in race to create coronavirus vaccine. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/01/researchers-make-strides-in-race-to-create-coronavirus-vaccine [Accessed 9 Feb. 2020].

CTV. (2020). Thailand sees apparent success treating coronavirus with a drug cocktail. [online] CTVNews. Available at: https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/thailand-sees-apparent-success-treating-coronavirus-with-drug-cocktail-1.4794001 [Accessed 9 Feb. 2020].

Lee, P.I. and Hsueh, P.R. (2020). Emerging threats from zoonotic coronaviruses-from SARS and MERS to 2019-nCoV. Journal of Microbiology, Immunology and Infection.