ON 10 January 2020, the first genetic sequence of the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, was published by an international consortium of scientists, and the race for a vaccine began. It wasn't a moment too soon, as the first death from infection with the virus was reported in Wuhan, China, the next day.
Remarkably, it has taken less than a year from this initial discovery to the development of several vaccines that have, in trials, far exceeded all expectations. At the time of going to press, a vaccine developed by US company Pfizer and its partner BioNTech had been approved for emergency use in the UK and roll-out had begun. Canada and the US had also approved it, with roll-out imminent. There is little doubt that approval from other countries – and for other vaccines – will follow.
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is the first mRNA vaccine to be approved, a technology that has scope for tackling many diseases beyond covid-19. Elsewhere, Russia has approved its Sputnik V vaccine, albeit from more limited trial results. In China, several vaccines are being administered, though they haven't completed rigorous trials.
A massive challenge lies ahead in getting the vaccine to the billions of people who need it. Many questions remain, not least how long immunity lasts. Even so, to achieve in a year what normally takes a decade or more has been heralded a huge medical success, one that offers a glimpse of the end of the pandemic.