In search of a vaccine against COVID-19: implications for nursing practice

Every day the human body is exposed to a huge number of viruses. Although most are harmless, some, which are known as pathogenic virions, can cause disease. Virus particles come in various shapes and sizes and the individual characteristics, together with the characteristics of the individuals they infect, impact on their virulence, including their mode of spread. They also impact on the ability of the immune system to mount an effective and sustained response to prevent disease. When this is not possible, development of a robust, safe, and long-lasting vaccines is sought (Doms, 2016).

On 31 December 2019, a new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) was identified from ‘a cluster of pneumonia cases of unknown aetiology with a common source of exposure’. By 10 January 2020, its genome sequence was released to the world (Zhou et al, 2020). By the end of the same month, its emergence had been declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. On 7 February, the disease it causes was named COVID-19 (Coronavirus Infectious Disease 2019), and within 6 weeks had been declared a pandemic (European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, 2020). It would be great to say that the rest is history but sadly it is not.