Is there a vaccine, medication or treatment for COVID-19?

Is there a vaccine, medication or treatment for COVID-19?

In the case of mild infections, some Western, traditional or household therapies can provide comfort and relieve the symptoms of COVID-19, but there is no research showing that the drug is currently effective in preventing or treating the disease. The WHO does not recommend taking medications (including antibiotics) for self-prevention or cure of COVID-19.

However, some clinical trials are underway. WHO is coordinating efforts to develop vaccines and drugs for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 and will continue to provide updated information after obtaining the results of the research.

To date, the German company BioNTech and the American pharmaceutical laboratory Pfizer have announced the positive preliminary results of a joint project of vaccines against the coronaviruses on 45 participants. A statement from both parties said that the BNT162b1 experimental vaccine "can produce a neutralizing antibody response in humans at a level greater than or equal to that seen in serum in the recovery phase, and at a lower dose," said said Ugur Sahin, managing director of BioNTech.

The preliminary data comes from a phase 1/2 trial in the United States, which aims to verify that the vaccine is not toxic and triggers an immune system response to make the body resistant to the virus. The technology of this vaccine is based on messenger RNA, which is a genetic code inserted into human cells that allows it to make specific antibodies against the coronavirus. According to the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 23 projects have already started these trials, and several projects have entered the second or even the third phase, which involves injecting vaccines into thousands of volunteers to see if they prevent actually contamination.