How COVID-19 vaccines were developed quickly yet safely

The decision to receive a vaccine is deeply personal. Receiving accurate, transparent, and easy-to-understand information may aid your decision-making process. When it comes to the COVID-19 vaccine, The Tubman Center for Health & Freedom upholds our patients’ medical autonomy and authority over their bodies. We see our role as making reliable scientific information and the vaccine accessible to the people. 

That is why at our Blaxinate Lounges, we provide space for respectful conversations. Ultimately, our patients must choose what they believe is the best way to protect themselves, their loved ones, and the community from COVID-19. 

Members of our community have expressed concerns over the COVID-19 vaccine because of how quick it went from labs to clinical trials to being widely-administered. The vaccine was undeniably rolled out in record time. However, that does not mean it is unsafe. We believe in good science. Based on the findings of clinical trials, we believe that our communities can and should consider receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. 

Here is a look at some factors which allowed the COVID mRNA vaccine to be developed and rolled out so quickly:

1. Coronaviruses are not new to scientists. Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that typically circulate among animals. Some of those viruses are then transferred to humans and can cause disease. For instance, the SARS coronavirus and MERS coronavirus are two well-researched coronaviruses. SARS emerged in 2002 and disappeared in 2004. MERS was identified in 2012 and continues to cause sporadic and localized outbreaks. By building onto the previous research on SARS and MERS, scientists were well positioned to rapidly develop COVID-19 response and vaccines. Based on the existing knowledge on coronaviruses, scientists already knew that the best vaccine approach was to target the virus’ spike protein. 
2. Sharing information on a global scale. Given that COVID-19 is a pandemic impacting nearly every country on the planet, there was worldwide attention on developing the science which will help combat the virus. Information sharing has been vital during the COVID-19 pandemic. By sharing information on a global scale early on, scientists had the entire virus gene sequenced in January 2020.
3. mRNA technology was already developed. Researchers have been studying mRNA vaccines for about 30 years. The mRNA injection puts markers on the outside of your cells that your immune system can then recognize and target if ever seen again. This technology was not created overnight. In fact,  scientists already had the “mRNA vaccine platform” in hand.
4. mRNA vaccines have fewer steps to get approval. The process to get FDA approval for typical vaccines is longer because every vaccine has its unique manufacturing process. mRNA vaccines use the same manufacturing process each time. 
5. High exposure rates. Typically, it takes years to go through vaccine trials because there is not enough natural exposure. This was not the case with COVID-19, since infection rates were so high. There was enough natural exposure to the virus to compare those who received the vaccine to those who did not. Phase 3 of the vaccine trials was therefore completed in record time. 
6. Investment in finding a vaccine to end the pandemic. Rarely is there a large amount of simultaneous funding from multiple sources for the same cause. With investment from government to pharmaceutical companies, scientists were not limited in their search for a vaccine. Scientists had the monetary resources needed to find a vaccine as soon as humanly possible.