An Overview of COVID-19 Vaccines: Challenges of the Discovery and Development by the Pharmaceutical Industries

Abstract

The coronavirus (COVID-19) took the world by storm and triggered intensive research mobilization and action towards vaccines and drug repurposing. This pandemic triggered an emergence therapy intervention of which the development of new vaccine and drug repurposing were good options that was to be validated by regulatory authorities for potential use for enhancing acquired immunity for the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2). Prior to the outbreak that led to the global health emergency intervention, an understanding of the viral architecture, pathophysiology and mechanism of action and functions were well established.  The global health disaster caused by COVID-19 has generated significant interest globally for research in vaccine discovery and development by many research institutions and Pharmaceutical sectors since 2019. So far, the approval of many clinical trials tested vaccines by the regulatory authorities have led to the need for post approval concerns of efficacy, safety and quality of these approved vaccines. This review paper attempts to explore the vaccines approved for global access to the population discovery and development process, the potential safety implications. An insight into other therapy options such as the convalescence plasma treatment and management for the global COVID-19 pandemic has been reviewed.