Recently the US Government reached a $1.5 billion agreement with Pfizer and BioNTech for an order of 100 million coronavirus vaccines. Alex Azar, Health and Human Services Secretary, stated that this collaboration means that a vaccine could be available as early as the end of 2020. But with the rapid formulation, will the vaccine be safe?
Vaccine Development
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the development of a vaccine follows explicit guidelines. The stages of development are:
- Exploratory stage
- Pre-clinical stage
- Clinical development
- Regulatory review and approval
- Manufacturing
- Quality control
The entire process can take up to ten years to complete. Since the novel coronavirus only begin to spread to other countries from the nation of origin in December, 2019, the fact that a pharmaceutical company is promising a vaccine by the end of 2020 seems to be greatly speeding up the process, leaving some detractors to say that we are compromising safety.
Medical Vaccine Advancements
New processes and procedures allow vaccines to be created and manufactured much quicker, thanks to a process using molecular technology to make RNA. This removes the need to grow or isolate the virus. This advancement is exciting, but as with all new technologies, there is risk involved. Several coronavirus vaccines in development are entering into human trials and are offering encouraging results. The hope is that there will be as many as 19 coronavirus vaccines available by the end of 2020. We are living in an unprecedented time, but thanks to medical advancements such as these, we may be able to look forward to the end of COVID-19.
While we are encouraged by the possibility of ending this virus and getting back to a normal way of life, if you have suffered an injury due to a defective medical injury or procedure, normal may be far from attainable. If you believe you have been injured by a defective medical product, contact Race Law Firm today. We will listen to your story and investigate your claim to provide you with solutions. Contact us today or call (404) 751-4720 to schedule your free consultation.
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