Great post by The Shared Microscope about the clinical trials process and how each step works. Everyone should know about clinical trials in the era of COVID-19 so that they can keep tabs on when potential therapeutics and vaccines may be made commercially available.
Vaccine development and usage over the past couple of decades has significantly reduced the number of infections and diseases affecting us today. As you will see, vaccine development is a difficult, complex and highly costly multi-step process that has saved numerous lives over the years.
The first-ever vaccine was developed, against smallpox, in England by Edward Jenner in 1796 [1]. Since his discovery, smallpox has been eradicated. Although his methods of recruitment would never pass any ethics board today, his work is regarded as the foundation of immunology [1]. Vaccine development has since changed quite a lot and has also become increasingly consensual.
A number of key issues need to be addressed to establish that a vaccine candidate has the desired properties.
It is only after a vaccine passes all safety and efficacy tests that it receives regulatory approval to enter the markets commercially.
Preclinical Research:
The goal…
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