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  • Essay / The disadvantages of the Covid-19 vaccine: accelerated development

    Table of contentsIntroductionConclusionList of references:IntroductionThe global pandemic which affected everyone individually originated in Wuhan, Hubei Provence and central Chin. “Covid-19 is a virus that was caused by a new coronavirus called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SAR-CoV-2). This is published in many countries where challenge trials are carried out on humans. Due to the severity of the disease, authorities in the United States and elsewhere have not yet authorized an ethics-laden research procedure called “human challenge trials” (Dor, Raban 2020). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayThis essay will explore the downsides of the Covid-19 vaccine in relation to the implementation of human challenge trials and the accelerated process of developing a vaccine due to the urgency of the pandemic. Human challenge trials or controlled human infection trials are a description of clinical trials used to find a vaccine where people are deliberately infected with the disease, in order to speed up the process under certain conditions tested, "young people and in good health will do so.” being intentionally exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19” (Callaway). These tests will allow us to find a solution to the pandemic disease. While deliberately infecting people is no joke, Peter Openshaw, an immunologist at Imperial College, said: "It's really vital that we move as quickly as possible towards getting vaccines and other effective treatments against COVID-19, and challenge studies have the potential to accelerate and reduce risks. - risk the development of new drugs and vaccines (Callaway). Time is of the essence and normal vaccine development takes up to 15 years to be approved and in production. The exploratory phase, which involves basic laboratory research, can last up to 2 to 4 years. Preclinical trials, which consist of animal testing and tissue culture studies, often last 1 to 2 years. Additionally, the entire phases I/III can take approximately 5 to 7 years. Next, a regulatory review is approved by the FDA and can last 1-2 years, after which production begins. But as we said before, since it is a pandemic, time is of the essence, which is why the exploratory stage is skipped and the preclinical trial is carried out in a few months. Phase I trials begin and before completion, Phase II begins. The phase III trial begins just before, phase II ends, and at the same time the production of a vaccine begins with risks since all the results are not acquired (Florian). Indeed, there is no time for errors since every day thousands of people around the world are affected, this can put health care workers at risk, since "current estimates of deaths due to health care in the United States are about 1,000” (Dor, Raban). So, is it ethical to deliberately infect people with COVID-19? Well, there are people who will agree with that because it will allow us to find the vaccine faster and save countless lives. But there are those who will oppose it, creating conspiracy theories such as “5G technology is somehow the cause of COVID-19” (Cookson, Jolley). Nonetheless, people who oppose the vaccine have a point about infecting people with COVID-19 to find a cure. However, there are both advantages and disadvantages to finding a vaccine in a shorter time frame. As stated previously,the usual time frame for finding a vaccine is 15 years, but due to the severity of the situation, scientists are trying every possible development platform to find the quickest way to “disarm” this virus, “RNA vaccines and DNA can be manufactured quickly because they do not require cultivation or fermentation” (Lurie et al.). Furthermore, the need to ensure the safety of healthcare workers increases the need to find the vaccine more quickly, because if governments delay the development of the vaccine, it would mean a potential failure of the economy. This is because people are too afraid to go to the hospital or to see the outside world. There is an increased risk of harm. For example, the death toll could rise due to limited time spent researching the virus. The fact that animal testing is bypassed is also an advantage, but it is also a disadvantage: "in view of the current epidemic, this seems a justified approach, but the problem is that in the absence of studies on animals, we can never predict the results. "in humans" (Dab, Shah and Goel). In the case of people deliberately contracting COVID-19, some might do it for the money, neglecting the risks. In addition, the vaccine is mainly given to healthy young people, who have been deliberately affected. It may therefore not be effective on older people or those who have already had the disease. In addition, scientists are trying to come up with new vaccine technologies. Here are three. First, for example, a DNA/RNA-based vaccine that uses fragments of genetic material. A few advantages are that vaccines can be quickly designed based on genetic sequencing alone and can be easily manufactured, meaning they will be cheaper, and thirdly, they do not cause COVID-19. The disadvantages are that this type of vaccine is not yet medically approved and it only makes part of the virus and there is a good chance that the DNA from the vaccine will be translated into your genome. Second, scientists thought about virus vectors. It uses a weak virus, incapable of causing disease itself, so that its antigens enter the body. The advantage is that sometimes a single dose is enough to provide long-term protection. A downside is that people who are already asymptomatic could reduce the validity of the vaccine. (Mahalingam and Taylor).In addition, another type of vaccine technology is inactivated vaccines in which the virus is treated so that it cannot replicate. The advantage of this technology is that it is a widely used technology and considered safe for people with weak immune systems, but as stated and, in the article, "low immunogenicity, therefore requires several reminders” (Mahalingam and Taylor). Keep in mind. : This is just a sample.Get a custom article now from our expert writers.Get a custom essayConclusionIn conclusion, yes, there are downsides to finding a vaccine faster and the fact that it might not being ethical does not outweigh finding a vaccine for a virus that already has over 50 million confirmed cases and has killed over a million people worldwide (WHO). So, many would say that it is not ethical to deliberately infect people with COVID-19, and they are right, it is not ethical, but it is necessary. Reference list: Heng L., Shang-Ming L., Xiao-Hua Y., Shi -Lin T., Chao-Ke T., Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): current status and future prospects. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32234466/Ofer R., Yuvai D. (2020) The