In the race to find a cure for coronavirus, scientists from all across the world are coming together and trying to find a specific drug or treatment for Covid-19. What progress have they made so far?
Researchers across the world are racing to find a cure to the new coronavirus that has killed over 14,000 people since the outbreak began late last year. The battle is to find a vaccine that will make us immune to Sars-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes Covid-19. But that can take time — between one year and 18 months. It will be very difficult for the world to remain in lockdown for that long. A lot, however, can change if in the meantime scientists discover a specific drug or treatment for Covid-19.
Global cooperation at odds with nationalistic ambition
So far, China, US and Europe have all begun clinical trials for a coronavirus vaccine. But the global effort is underlined by the fierce competition between countries and companies to be the first to not only win the scientific accolades, the patents and the revenues, but also the first to secure a vaccine in the interest of national security. Though these countries have agreed to cooperate and many pharmaceutical companies are joining forces to find a vaccine, there is little to no consensus on how or when a successful vaccine will be shared with the rest of the world.
Global cooperation at odds with nationalistic ambition
So far, China, US and Europe have all begun clinical trials for a coronavirus vaccine. But the global effort is underlined by the fierce competition between countries and companies to be the first to not only win the scientific accolades, the patents and the revenues, but also the first to secure a vaccine in the interest of national security. Though these countries have agreed to cooperate and many pharmaceutical companies are joining forces to find a vaccine, there is little to no consensus on how or when a successful vaccine will be shared with the rest of the world.