The COVID-19 pandemic has forever changed the world's relationship to vaccines, spurring unprecedented production and innovation even while poorer nations were left behind.
Hussain Mustafa, 13, receives his first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center in Karachi, Pakistan, January 3, 2022. REUTERS/ Akhtar Soomro
Until COVID-19, vaccines tended to be targeted at specific groups, such as children, the elderly or vulnerable people.Then everything changed: 11 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines were produced in 2021 alone. Despite an effective measles vaccine being available for more than half a century, 140,000 deaths from the disease were recorded in 2018—mostly among children in developing countries, according to France's INSERM institute.Since British physician Edward Jenner came up with the first vaccine in 1796 for smallpox, several different kinds have been developed.
More recently, viral vector vaccines, used for Ebola or AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccines, take a modified version of a different, harmless virus to smuggle genetic instructions to the body's cells, telling them to make antibodies. Before the pandemic, four companies accounted for 90 percent of the global vaccine market: American giants Pfizer and Merck, Britain's GSK and France's Sanofi.
It has also spurred production in nations that missed out on the lion's share of vaccine doses earlier in the pandemic.Such projects have been made possible by mRNA vaccines, which can be updated and developed more swiftly, while "traditional technologies remain complicated to deploy and relocate," Plantevin said.
Philippines Latest News, Philippines Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
BJMP reports no COVID-19 case among inmates since March 27The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) said Sunday that all their inmates and personnel nationwide are cleared from COVID-19.
Read more »
Shanghai fences up buildings hit by COVID-19, fueling fresh outcryMost of the barriers appear to have been erected around compounds designated as 'sealed areas,' or buildings where at least one person has tested positive for COVID-19.
Read more »
Gov't rolls out second COVID-19 booster shot in NCRThe administration of second COVID-19 booster shot for the immunocompromised population is set to begin in the National Capital Region (NCR) on Monday, April 25, 2022.
Read more »
Marikina LGU opens 2nd Covid-19 booster shot registrationThe online registration for the second Covid-19 booster shot has opened for immunocompromised individuals in Marikina City, with the city health office administering the jabs starting Monday, April 25.
Read more »
DOH: 95% of Covid-19 deaths in PH are unvaccinatedAs the government intensifies its inoculation efforts, Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III on Monday, April 25, bared that 95 percent of Covid-19 deaths in the country are unvaccinated. READ:
Read more »
Beijing’s biggest district begins COVID-19 mass testingBeijing kicked off three rounds of COVID-19 testing for all residents of its biggest district Chaoyang after dozens of cases were reported, prompting people to stock up on food over fears of an eventual strict Shanghai-style lockdown. | Reuters
Read more »