New Delhi, July 28: The world is eagerly waiting for a vaccine to guard against coronavirus (COVID-19). A handful of pharmaceutical companies have managed to develop potential vaccines for COVID-19 and clinical trials are underway. In this article, we will give the latest updates on potential COVID-19 vaccines and their early results. India's COVAXIN is one of the candidates for COVID-19 vaccine. India Records 47,704 New COVID-19 Cases in Past 24 Hours, Coronavirus Death Toll Surges to 33,425.

COVAXIN by India's Bharat Biotech:

Touted as India's first possible anti-COVID vaccine, COVAXIN is developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the ICMR and the National Institute of Virology (NIV). The human clinical trials of COVAXIN is underway at various hospitals and institutes across India. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has selected 12 institutes for Phase-I clinical trials of the vaccine. On Monday, COVAXIN's human clinical trials began at the Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital in Bhubaneswar. Covaxin Human Trials: Dr Dang's Lab Partners With Bharat Biotech for India’s Indigenous COVID-19 Vaccine’s Clinical Trials.

mRNA-1273 Vaccine by US-Based Moderna:

The US-based pharmaceutical company Moderna has begun a phase-3 clinical trial of its investigational vaccine known as mRNA-1273 designed to protect against COVID-19 virus. Results from early-stage clinical testing showed the mRNA-1273 vaccine is safe and immunogenic. Co-developed by the Cambridge University and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the vaccine candidate is designed to induce neutralising antibodies directed at a portion of the coronavirus "spike" protein, which the virus uses to bind to and enter human cells.

BNT162b2 Vaccine by Pfizer and BioNTech:

Developed by US-based Pfizer and German biotech firm BioNTech, BNT162b2 vaccine's late-stage clinical trials will start now. The trail will include 30,000 participants between 18 and 85 years of age. During preclinical and clinical studies of four BNT162 RNA vaccine candidates, BNT162b1 and BNT162b2 emerged as strong candidates based on assessments of safety and immune response.

Covishield or AZD1222 by Oxford University-AstraZeneca:

The early trials of AZD1222, developed by the Oxford University and AstraZeneca, showed promising results. The Serum Institute of India (SII) will soon apply to the Indian regulator for the licensure trials of AZD1222. The SII will launch the vaccine in India by the name Covishield. The SII has released a representative image of the vial of Covishield.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 28, 2020 01:15 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).