Hundreds volunteer for Covid-19 vaccine testing

HUNDREDS of people are rolling up their sleeves in countries across the world to be injected with experimental vaccines that might stop Covid-19, spurring hope that an end to the pandemic may arrive sooner than anticipated.

About 100 research groups are pursuing vaccines with nearly a dozen in early stages of human trials or poised to start. It’s a crowded field, but researchers say that only increases the odds that a few might overcome the many obstacles that remain.

“We’re not really in a competition against each other. We’re in a race against a pandemic virus, and we really need as many players in that race as possible,” said Dr Andrew Pollard, who is leading the University of Oxford’s vaccine study.

There’s no way to predict which vaccine will work safely, or even to name a front runner. As Dr Anthony Fauci, the US government’s top expert, put it: “You need more shots on goal for a chance at getting a safe and effective vaccine.”

The first cautious tests of March, when small numbers of volunteers got injections to check for side effects, have turned into larger studies in China, the US and Europe to look for hints that different vaccine candidates really protect.

Next, finding out for sure if any of the vaccines work in the real world by testing large groups of people in areas where the virus is circulating – a tricky prospect when study participants may be in places where the virus is fading or they are told to stay home – and finding a way to quickly distribute lots of doses of any successful candidates.

Policymakers are devising plans to try to overcome both obstacles in an attempt to compress the years it usually takes to develop a vaccine. Asked if a vaccine by January was possible, Dr Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus task force co-ordinator, said: “On paper, it’s possible. It’s whether we can execute.”

Depending how you count, there are between eight and 11 vaccine candidates in early stages of testing in China, the US, Britain and Germany – a collaboration between Pfizer Inc and BioNTech last week began a study in Germany that’s simultaneously testing four somewhat different shots. More study sites are about to open in still other countries.

Different types of vaccines work better in some virus families than others. But for coronaviruses, there’s no blueprint. Back in 2003 when scientists attempted vaccines against SARS, a cousin of the new virus, animal studies hinted at safety problems but then SARS disappeared and vaccine funding dried up. Most vaccine studies so far are tracking safety and whether volunteers’ blood shows any immune reactions. The World Health Organization (WHO) last week called for countries to offer to be test sites for an international project that will speed the timeline by admitting on a rolling basis promising vaccine candidates for further study in locations where Covid-19 remains widespread at the time.

Whenever the first useful vaccine is identified, there won’t be enough for everyone. So a growing number of vaccine makers say they’re already starting to brew tons of doses – wasting millions of dollars if they bet on the wrong candidate but shaving a few months off mass vaccinations if their choice pans out.