COVID-19: Will the world soon have a vaccine to fight the novel coronavirus?

Top scientists and researchers are working around the clock to create a COVID-19 vaccine, but will the world have a vaccine in the coming months?

Scientists expect to create a coronavirus vaccine within 12 to 18 months despite the fact that it typically takes multiple years of work to create one.

Despite the ongoing research for a vaccine, top experts have said that a vaccine for COVID-19 is most likely only going to be 50 percent effective.

Vaccines imitate the virus or part of the virus they defend against, inducing the production of antibodies by the immune system. Strict safety requirements must be met before a vaccine can be distributed to millions of people.

Vaccines are tested in multiple stages. First, the vaccine goes through a pre-clinical-stage, in which scientists administer the vaccine to animals to see if an immune response is triggered. Next is phase 1, in which a select number of individuals are given the vaccine to assess its safety and learn more about the immune reaction it causes. If phase 1 goes successfully, the vaccine next goes through phase 2, in which hundreds of individuals are given the jab so that its effectiveness and the dosage in which it needs to be administered can be assessed. Finally, the vaccine goes through its last phase, phase 3, in which thousands of people are given the vaccine so that doctors can validate its effectiveness and safety.

Previously on Monday, the chief scientific adviser for the UK government said that a vaccine would not be available until spring 2021, especially seeing as it typically takes five years to produce a vaccine from scratch.