A vaccine for COVID-19 may be available by the end of this year. Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, a researcher with Dale and Betty Bumpers Vaccine Research Center, part of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), is leading the effort and spoke with Anderson Cooper on CNN. On March 16, Corbett’s team began first-stage clinical trials of a COVID-19 vaccine, only about two months after beginning work. This is a remarkably short time in which to begin trials of a vaccine for a new coronavirus. Previously, Dr. Anthony Fauci, who heads up the NIAID, said in 2003, NIH scientists managed to identify the SARS coronavirus and get a potential vaccine to stage-one clinical trials in 20 months.
Corbett said the first phase is to test a potential vaccine for safety. If proven safe, additional clinical trials will see if the vaccine works, does it create an immune response, and does it protect people from infection.
Corbett said if things proceed as planned, a vaccine could be available in the Fall for emergency use—health care workers, first responders, and others constantly exposed to COVID-19. She said a general use vaccine against COVID-19 could be available for use in the general population by Spring, 2021.
The National Institutes of Health website has links to the latest in public health information about COVID-19 plus information about ongoing research.
