With the COVID-19 pandemic still hanging around, Australia tripping over itself with a flawed COVID-19 tracing app, world leaders sprouting misinformation, and celebs going around touting their anti-vaccine views, we could all do with some positive coronavirus updates and developments..
Well it seems like the universe has finally decided to throw us a bone because the University of Queensland has managed to make a big breakthrough in their development of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Speaking of COVID-19 vaccines, the GOAT team debunk a heap of dumb coronavirus conspiracies on ‘It’s Been A Big Day For…’ below:
According to SBS News, the University of Queensland has been developing a potential COVID-19 vaccine and early tests has shown promising results in fighting the coronavirus.
Results have demonstrated the in-development COVID-19 vaccine is capable of raising high levels of antibodies that can neutralise the coronavirus. The project’s co-leader, Professor Paul Young, said the test results were a great indication that the vaccine is working as intended.
“This is what we were hoping for, and it’s a great relief for the team given the tremendous faith placed in our technology by CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation), federal and Queensland governments and our philanthropic partners.
“We were particularly pleased that the strength of the antibody response was even better than those observed in samples from COVID-19 recovered patients.”
At a time when beloved celebrities are failing us and events that bring us joy are getting cancelled, it’s a welcome relief to know that Australia is making positive steps in the development of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Having said that, we shouldn’t be too excited just yet. Yes Australia (and the world by extension) taken a big step in fighting against COVID-19 but we’ve still got a long way to go before a vaccine is ready. The reason is simply because vaccines take a lot of time and resources to properly develop.
Researchers need time to learn everything about the disease before even making a vaccine. Then there’s several phases of testing potential vaccines in order to ensure they’re effective and safe for humans. These heavily-tested vaccines then need to be reviewed and approved by government regulatory bodies to ensure they’re safe. All in all, it can easily take many years for a vaccine of any sort to arrive.
If development of a vaccine is rushed, that could put more healthy people at risk and it may not even work as intended. The estimated 18-month window for a COVID-19 vaccine may seem long, but compared to the usual time frame to develop a vaccine it’s lightning fast.
The hypothetical COVID-19 vaccine will come eventually, whether it’s from an Australian university or elsewhere, and we’ll be able to put this whole coronavirus saga behind us. We just have to be patient and let all the hard-working scientists everywhere do their thing at their own pace.
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