Progress in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 vaccine

ABSTRACT

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has become an important public health issue in the whole world and poses a serious threat to individual health. Vaccination is one of the most effective and economical approaches to prevent and control infectious diseases. SARS-CoV-2 belongs to betacoronavirus. With the research experience of SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, researchers at home and abroad have made considerable progress in the selection of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine targets, animal models and immune protection indicators. On this basis, the research and development of the vaccines is also in rapid development. As of June, 2020, 136 vaccine development projects are under way, covering all the five types, inactivated, attenuated, re-combinant protein, nucleic acid and viral vector vaccines, 10 of which are in clinical trials. However, the development of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines is still faced with many challenges, including anti-body-dependent enhancement (ADE) effect, safety problem, unknown long-term protection, possible mutation of virus and the issue of mass production and delivery. There is still a long way to go in the research and development of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, and researchers at home and abroad should work together to develop a successful vaccine and curb the pandemic as soon as possible.