LEADING THE RACE: At least 10 vaccine candidates from around the world are in late-stage (Phase 3) clinical trials, out of 150 or so COVID-19 vaccines in development. The virus has kicked up a global economic meltdown, with 51 million coronavirus cases and 1.26 million deaths recorded as of November 10, 2010. With millions of jobs lost, a heightened sense of altruism has emerged, as tens of thousands of vaccine trial volunteers were recruited relatively quickly. Hyper collaboration between scientists and health authorities is driving vaccine development, enabled by cloud computing. These factors, absent in the previous era of vaccine makers, help speed up vaccine trials today, compared to previous pandemics. It typically takes 4 years to develop a vaccine. But this time, hopes are high that at least one shot could hit the market in record time, without compromising safety and efficacy.
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