Deciphering Vaccines for COVID-19: where do we stand today?

Pneumonia of unknown etiology was detected in a few patients in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. The causative agent was named as the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by the World Health Organization (WHO). The disease caused by this virus was named as a new coronavirus disease: COVID-19. The disease has a global impact affecting more than 200 nations including the USA, India, Brazil, Russia, and Peru are the 5 most severely affected nations. The discovery of the genotype and phenotype of SARS-CoV-2 boosted the global efforts for the development of treatment options and vaccines for the COVID-19. As the transmission of the virus is rapid, to protect the global population, the development of an effective vaccine against the virus is very essential. The current review highlights the various platforms and technologies used globally for the development of the vaccine and also focuses on the current status of the vaccine candidates under development by organizations to combat the global threat of COVID-19 pandemic.

Rabies Control and Treatment: From Prophylaxis to Strategies with Curative Potential

Rabies is an acute, fatal, neurological disease that affects almost all kinds of mammals. Vaccination (using an inactivated rabies vaccine), combined with administration of rabies immune globulin, is the only approved, effective method for post-exposure prophylaxis against rabies in humans. In the search for novel rabies control and treatment strategies, live-attenuated viruses have recently emerged as a practical and promising approach for immunizing and controlling rabies. Unlike the conventional, inactivated rabies vaccine, live-attenuated viruses are genetically modified viruses that are able to replicate in an inoculated recipient without causing adverse effects, while still eliciting robust and effective immune responses against rabies virus infection. A number of viruses with an intrinsic capacity that could be used as putative candidates for live-attenuated rabies vaccine have been intensively evaluated for therapeutic purposes. Additional novel strategies, such as a monoclonal antibody-based approach, nucleic acid-based vaccines, or small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) interfering with virus replication, could further add to the arena of strategies to combat rabies. In this review, we highlight current advances in rabies therapy and discuss the role that they might have in the future of rabies treatment. Given the pronounced and complex impact of rabies on a patient, a combination of these novel modalities has the potential to achieve maximal anti-rabies efficacy, or may even have promising curative effects in the future. However, several hurdles regarding clinical safety considerations and public awareness should be overcome before these approaches can ultimately become clinically relevant therapies.