The Thin End

So much now depends on developing a vaccine against COVID-19, but how long could that take? The best estimate is that it would take at least twelve months. The best chance currently is one being developed in the United States. One way to generate a vaccine is to replicate the bit of the virus that causes the immune system to react, but without the virus' potential for taking over the cells of the body that host it. It is a bit like finding a key that fits a lock but doesn't allow the thief to enter. The estimate is that a vaccine for Covid-19 is at least 12 months away. A trial of a vaccine has begun in the United States. The group based in Seattle, Washington, had been working on a similar virus and so have been able to switch to Covid-19. They have reproduced a bit of RNA that acts as a template for a bit of the virus that would be recognised by the immune system.  It is an ingenious trick they are using, which is to use a bit of RNA to get cells of our bod...