On Our Way to a Vaccine - Part 4
Covid-19 Virus Today's blog is a follow-up to three past blogs based upon an original article titled "On Our Way to a Vaccine," which is based upon an article in the New York Times Sunday Magazine. [ Entitled: "The Development of a Vaccine for COVID-19," June 14, 2020, Page 36-43, 56. ] Once you know the vaccine that you want to test, what's the process? Barouch says, "Vaccine development for a new pathogen traditionally takes many years or even decades. The process includes small-scale manufacuring; Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical trials; and then regulatory approval and large scale manufacturing." 1 Phase 1 Objectives In Phase 1 all you are doing, with a limited testing audience, is determining that there are no obvious side effects. These are called "safety trials" and they usually have to go through many iterations. If satisfied with Phase 1 trials, you then move on to Phase 2. Phase 2 & 3 Objectives In Phase 2 you test a l