- 5,039
- 7,458
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2014
Heard on the news that the fastest time a vaccine has been developed was 4 years. They trying to get this one out in under a year.
You are correct. The difference, as I understand it, is that there was already alot of research done during prior coronavirus outbreaks (SARS/MERS), but since neither of those spread enough to become a worldwide pandemic, that research was never completed and helped researchers develop the current vaccine candidates more quickly due to the similarities. In the case of the Oxford group, they were able to hit the ground running and do what would normally take several years in just a few months.
EDIT: also forgot to mention that these trials that are currently being completed for safety and efficacy are able to be completed quickly because there is no shortage of people being exposed to the virus around the world. The difficult part that can often take many years is that they're waiting to make sure people in the study groups are actually exposed to the disease for which they're trying to develop the vaccine.
Last edited: