Vaccine science in the context of COVID-19

[Extract]
With the urgency of the pandemic, researchers and developers collaborated globally to develop a safe vaccine. Building on decades of experience with coronavirus research (e.g. SARS & MERS), advancement of mRNA therapies (for cancer and viruses) and early identification of the genome sequence of SARS-CoV-2, scientists were able to apply lessons learned to the current situation. On top of this, huge financial investment and the innovation of the internet (to communicate) paved the way for this rapid development to achieve such resounding success.

Both the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines have extensive safety testing behind them – in the clinical trials, tens of thousands of participants were enrolled, some of the highest numbers ever seen. Since the commencement of administration, millions of doses (billions when you include other vaccines) have been delivered.