When a new pathogen emerges, our bodies and health systems remain vulnerable. At times like these, there is an urgent need for a vaccine to create widespread immunity with minimal loss of life. So how fast can we actually develop vaccines when we need them most? 

The development of a vaccine can generally be broken down into three stages. In exploratory analysis and studies, scientists are experimenting with different methods to find safe and reproducible vaccine style. Once tested in the lab, they enter clinical trials, where vaccines are evaluated for safety, efficacy, and side effects in a variety of populations. Finally, there is production, where vaccines are produced and distributed for general public use.

The process takes an average of 15 to 20 years, but during a pandemic, researchers use many strategies to get through each step as quickly as possible. 

Exploratory studies or better still research is perhaps the most flexible. The purpose of this phase is to find a safe way to introduce our immune system to the virus or bacteria. This gives our body the information it needs to create antibodies that can fight off a real infection. There are many ways to safely activate this immune response, but generally the most effective designs are also the slowest to produce. 

Traditional attenuated vaccines create lasting resilience. But they are based on weakened viral strains that must be grown in non-human tissue for long periods of time. Most instances inactivated form of vaccines take a far quicker approach, directly applying heat, acid or radiation to weaken the pathogen (virus). Subunit vaccines, which inject harmless fragments of viral proteins, can also be created quickly. But those quicker and faster techniques produce much less robust resilience.

These are just three of the many vaccine models, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. No single approach is guaranteed to work, and all require tedious research. So the best way to speed things up is to have many labs working on different models at the same time. This particular race-to-finish game plan produced the first testable vaccine against Zika in 7 months and the first testable vaccine against COVID19 in just 42 days. they mean that these vaccines will be effective. But models deemed safe and easily reproducible can move on to clinical testing as other labs continue to explore alternatives.

Even if a verifiable or testable vaccine is produced or created in four months or four years, the next stage is often the longest and most unpredictable stage of development. Clinical trials consist of three phases, each containing several studies. Phase I studies focus on the intensity of the immune response elicited and attempt to establish that the vaccine is safe and effective. Phase II studies focus on determining the right dosage and dosing regimen in a larger population. And phase III studies determine safety in the primary vaccine population, also identifying rare cases of side effects and reactions.

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Given the number of variables and the emphasis on long-term safety, it's incredibly difficult to speed up clinical trials. In extreme circumstances, researchers run multiple tests in one step at the same time. However, before proceeding, they must always meet strict safety criteria. Most times laboratory can speed up this particular process by taking advantage of already approved treatments. In 2009, researchers adapted the seasonal influenza vaccine to treat H1N1 influenza to produce a widely available vaccine in just six months. However, this technique only works when dealing with known pathogens that have well-established vaccine models.

On attaining success in Phase III study, a national wide regulatory authority evaluate the outcomes/result and approves vaccines that are safe secure to manufacture. Each vaccine contains a unique blend of biological and chemical components that require a specialized pipeline to be manufactured right out of the vaccine. approved, production plans should be developed in conjunction with research and testing. This requires constant coordination between laboratories and manufacturers, as well as the resources to adapt to sudden changes in vaccine design, even if it means giving up months of work.

Over time, advances in exploratory research and manufacturing are expected to accelerate this process. Preliminary studies suggest that future researchers may be able to exchange genetic material from different viruses in the same vaccine model. These DNA and mRNA-based vaccines could dramatically speed up all three stages of vaccine production. But until such discoveries happen, our best strategy is for labs around the world to collaborate and work in parallel on different approaches. By sharing knowledge and resources, scientists can divide and defeat any pathogen.