Coronavirus vaccine: How close we dey to get dat special treatment injection for COVID-19?

A scientist researching a coronavirus vaccine — Researchers are developing vaccines and starting to test them on animals

Coronavirus don spread go more than 80 kontris and thousands of new cases na im dem dey report for across di world evri day.

For now, no vaccine dey wey fit protect pipo against dis disease. But wen dat one go change?

Which time coronavirus vaccine go dey?

Researchers dey develop vaccines and dem don begin dey test am for animal body, if e go well, dem go begin dey test am for pipo body too later.

But even if scientists fit jolly say dem find vaccine before Christmas, work still dey of how dem go fit produce am make e plenti.

Dis one mean say, e dey possible make vaccine no ready at least till di middle of next year.

All of dis tins just dey happun for different level and to use new approaches to vaccines, guarantee no dey say everything go jell like dat.

Remember say na four coronaviruses dey waka for inside human beings. Na dem dey cause di common cold and vaccine neva dey for any of dem.

Wetin I need to sabi about coronavirus?

Coronavirus: What you need to know graphic featuring three key points: wash your hands for 20 seconds; use a tissue for coughs; avoid touching your face

E go fit protect pipo of different age?

E fit no dey successful for pipo wey dey old sake of dia immune system. Immunization no dey too work for pipo wey don old. Dis dey happun every year wen one flu come out and e affect dem.

All melecines, even Paracetamol dey get side effect. But if dem no do clinical experiments, e dey impossible to know wetin go be di side effect of experimental vaccine.

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Until wen vaccine go ready, which kain treatments dey?

Vaccines dey prevent infections and di best way to do dat for now na to get correct hygiene.

If you dey infected by coronavirus, for most pipo, e no dey too serious. Some anti-viral drugs wey dem use for clinical trials dey, but we no dey too sure if any of dem dey work.

An illustration showing the structure of the novel coronavirus released by the US national public health institute — Proteins wey tanda ontop di coronavirus surface also kick start immune responses from di body

How dem take dey create vaccine?

Vaccines dey harmlessly show viruses or bacteria (or even small parts of dem) wey dey di immune system. Di bodi defences sabi dem as intruder, come learn how to fight am.

If di bodi come dey exposed to virus, e don already sabi how to fight di infection.

For tens of years, di main method of vaccination na to use di original virus.

Di measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine wey dey na from di weakened versions of those viruses wey no fit cause full-blown infection dem use. Di seasonal catarrh and cough wey always dey catch pipo for some kain period, di vaccine, dem make di vaccine from di main strains of flu doing di rounds and dem disable dem patapata.

Di work for new coronavirus special treatment injection alias vaccine go use newer, and less tested, approaches called “plug and play” vaccines. Becos we know di genetic code of di new coronavirus, Sars-CoV-2, we now don get di complete blueprint to carry build that virus.

Some vaccine scientists dey carry small sections of di coronavirus genetic code and dey put am into oda viruses wey dey completely harmless.

Biologist with nucleic acids isolated from human samples to be tested for infection with the Covid-19 coronavirus. — One Russian lab dey test for infection wit di Covid-19 coronavirus

Now you fit “infect” persin wit di harmless bug and in theory give some immunity against infection.

Other groups dey use pieces of raw genetic code (either DNA or RNA depending on the approach) which, once dem inject am inside di body, e go begin produce bits of viral proteins which di immune system again fit learn to fight.