COVID-19 update: The latest in the scientific race to develop an effective vaccine

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With the global pandemic still in full swing, scientists are working to develop a vaccine in record time. While everyone wants an effective vaccine, they don’t all agree on how to get there and what “effective” really means. Chemical & Engineering News, the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, spoke with researchers, doctors and business leaders to shed light on some of the challenges vaccine developers are facing. 

As of mid-July, the World Health Organization reported that over 160 vaccine programs were in progress, an unprecedented effort toward a common goal, writes Associate Editor Ryan Cross. Although traditional vaccines are made with weakened or killed virus, many modern vaccines use part of the virus itself to teach immune cells what to home in on. For SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, that part is the spike protein, which the virus uses to attach itself to human cells. Both types of methods can be time-consuming, and traditional approaches are potentially dangerous because companies need to grow large amounts of virus. This has caused some scientists to turn to experimental gene-based vaccines. Researchers put the genetic code for the spike protein into harmless viruses that act as vessels, or simply use DNA or RNA to deliver the genetic information to human cells. Human cells would use these instructions to make the spike protein, which would trigger an immune response. These types of vaccines are very fast for scientists to design and make, but the technology is largely unproven, and it remains to be seen whether these kinds of vaccines are effective. Furthermore, there are many different modifications that scientists can make to the spike protein, which could change how our immune systems respond to the real virus. 

Vaccine makers are focusing on the ability of candidates to produce high levels of neutralizing antibodies that would prevent the virus from entering cells. But this area of vaccine research also faces challenges. For example, the methods for quantifying the antibody response in the laboratory are not ideal. In addition, it’s unclear just how much neutralization is good enough and for how long the effect would last. If antibody levels aren’t high enough, a person might only be left with partial immunity, which could prevent severe symptoms but still leave them with the ability to infect others. And what works in one person might not work well in another. Questions about safety still loom, and experts warn that moving too fast with an unsafe vaccine could shake public confidence. In the end, vaccine developers note that no single company can do this alone, and several types of vaccines will likely be needed.

The article, “What Will it Take to Make an Effective Vaccine for COVID-19?” is freely available here.

SCI TECH DAILY

Update by Worldometers

Reported Cases and Deaths by Country, Territory, or Conveyance

The coronavirus COVID-19 is affecting 213 countries and territories around the world and 2 international conveyances. The day is reset after midnight GMT+0. The list of countries and territories and their continental regional classification is based on the United Nations Geoscheme. Sources are provided under “Latest Updates”Learn more about Worldometer’s COVID-19 data

#Country,
Other
Total
Cases
New
Cases
Total
Deaths
New
Deaths
Total
Recovered
Active
Cases
Serious,
Critical
Tot Cases/
1M pop
Deaths/
1M pop
Total
Tests
Tests/
1M pop
Population
World16,285,353+96,150649,848+2,2749,961,1625,674,34366,2422,08983.4
1USA4,327,706+11,997149,490 +922,061,8792,116,33718,98413,06945153,374,084161,185331,134,610
2Brazil2,396,43486,496 1,617,480692,4588,31811,2694074,911,06323,093212,661,228
3India1,424,202+38,70832,656 +560910,298481,2488,9441,0312416,291,33111,7981,380,900,513
4Russia812,485+5,76513,269 +77600,250198,9662,3005,5679126,902,291184,339145,938,879
5South Africa434,2006,655 263,054164,4915397,3151122,730,81246,00759,357,051
6Mexico385,036+6,75143,374 +729247,17894,4843,9222,984336911,8537,067129,021,774
7Peru379,88418,030 263,13098,7241,40211,5115462,206,10566,84933,001,256
8Chile343,5929,020 316,16918,4031,63617,9644721,504,84478,67619,127,140
9Spain319,50128,432 N/AN/A6176,8336086,320,836135,18846,756,057
10UK298,68145,738 N/AN/A1044,39867414,568,733214,52967,910,360
11Iran291,172+2,33315,700 +216253,21322,2593,6953,4641872,327,85027,69284,062,376
12Pakistan273,113+1,2265,822 +35237,43429,8571,2671,235261,868,1808,447221,154,992
13Saudi Arabia266,941+1,9682,733 +30220,32343,8852,1207,660783,056,95687,72234,848,130
14Italy245,86435,102 198,32012,442414,0675816,520,046107,84960,455,471
15Colombia240,7958,269 119,667112,8591,4934,7291621,379,04327,08350,918,491
16Turkey225,1735,596 208,47711,1001,2522,668664,532,67253,70684,398,593
17Bangladesh223,453+2,2752,928 +54123,88296,64311,356181,111,5586,745164,797,647
18Germany206,363+319,202 190,6006,5612372,4621107,418,81288,52783,802,499
19France180,52830,192 80,81569,5214102,7654622,982,30245,68265,283,584
20Argentina158,3342,893 68,02287,4199553,50164623,89313,79645,223,300
21Canada113,5568,885 99,1155,5562,2243,0072353,761,92799,61637,764,184
22Iraq110,032+2,4594,362 +7875,21730,4534332,732108912,69822,66140,276,360
23Qatar109,305+269165 +1106,0243,1168938,92959472,442168,2602,807,805 
24Indonesia98,778+1,4924,781 +6756,65537,342361171,381,6995,048273,713,592
25Egypt91,5834,558 32,90354,1224189444135,0001,318102,453,147
26China83,830+464,634 78,908288658390,410,00062,8141,439,323,776 
27Kazakhstan81,720+1,494585 51,82329,3122214,349311,894,815100,83518,791,305
28Philippines80,448+2,0361,932 +3526,11052,406351734181,299,45611,848109,674,895
29Ecuador80,0365,507 34,54439,9852784,532312224,19712,69517,660,035
30Sweden78,9975,697 N/AN/A507,819564751,21374,35210,103,535
31Oman76,005+1,147384 +1355,29920,32216714,86275296,98958,0725,114,175
32Bolivia68,281+1,8252,535 +6220,95144,795715,844217147,17312,59711,683,237
33Belarus67,132+130534 +460,4256,173897,105571,251,359132,4329,449,102
34Belgium65,727+5289,821 +417,42538,481455,6698471,514,046130,59911,593,089
35Ukraine64,849+9201,605 +1535,80727,437911,48337937,00621,43543,714,427
36Kuwait63,773+464433 +454,3738,96712314,919101479,411112,1544,274,587
37Dominican Republic62,908+2,0121,063 +828,60333,2422675,79598235,28921,67510,855,084
38Israel61,388+710464 +726,95933,9653296,674501,597,269173,6629,197,590 
39UAE58,913+351344 +152,1826,3875,952354,828,066487,7749,898,162
40Panama58,8641,275 33,42824,16115813,629295203,60047,1404,319,053
41Netherlands52,7326,139 N/AN/A163,077358851,88549,70917,137,516
42Singapore50,369+48127 45,5214,8218,60551,170,049199,8915,853,425
43Portugal50,164+2091,717 +135,21713,230484,9211681,528,600149,94310,194,564
44Romania44,798+1,1202,187 +2225,64316,9683512,3301141,102,90157,35819,228,208
45Guatemala44,4921,699 31,04511,74852,48195138,8507,74117,936,018
46Poland43,065+4431,671 +732,7538,641611,138442,095,22255,36537,843,655
47Nigeria39,977856 16,94822,17371944259,5161,257206,438,279
48Bahrain38,747140 +335,2053,4025122,72982780,081457,6011,704,719
49Honduras38,438+8791,098 +374,71332,627513,87711195,5749,6409,914,535
50Armenia37,317+321705 +526,47810,1341012,592238157,15253,0272,963,630
51Afghanistan36,157+1211,259 +1125,1809,718319283286,9072,22938,980,632
52Switzerland34,412+1101,977 30,7001,735203,974228758,83687,6378,658,880
53Kyrgyzstan32,813+6891,277 +2820,38811,148245,024196267,71840,9926,530,946
54Ghana32,437+586161 28,9273,34981,0435369,18011,86631,112,174
55Azerbaijan30,050+417417 +922,6846,949662,96241667,81965,82610,145,250
56Japan28,786993 21,5676,226642288704,4005,571126,448,497
57Algeria26,7641,146 18,0767,542666102643,900,083
58Ireland25,8691,764 23,36474155,235357600,342121,4924,941,393
59Serbia23,730+467534 +814,0479,1491692,71761621,71471,1778,734,813
60Moldova23,034+206735 +315,9096,3903625,711182128,07631,7554,033,289
61Austria20,472+134712 18,2091,551152,27279847,89894,1079,009,896
62Uzbekistan20,226+274114 +310,8319,28113860431,377,91541,13233,500,117
63Morocco19,645305 16,2823,0583153281,126,21330,48836,939,019
64Nepal18,613+13045 13,1285,4406382647,48422,19729,169,282
65Cameroon16,708385 14,5391,7843062814145,0005,45426,584,456
66Kenya16,643278 7,5748,791443095261,0274,84853,842,237
67Ivory Coast15,49494 9,8805,520587493,6593,54526,416,469
68Czechia15,212369 9,5905,253221,42034656,88861,33210,710,370
69Venezuela14,929138 8,7955,9962052551,491,73752,47028,430,130
70El Salvador14,630+409400 +107,6486,5824862,25562226,71834,9426,488,443
71Costa Rica14,60098 3,64010,862512,8641974,37514,5915,097,206
72Australia14,403+453155 +109,0195,2294656463,932,866154,11425,519,167
73S. Korea14,150+58298 12,8909621527661,522,92629,70351,272,290
74Denmark13,438613 12,34048532,3191061,411,757243,6755,793,612
75Ethiopia13,248209 5,9667,073661152372,8123,238115,130,088
76Sudan11,385717 5,8904,77825916401943,909,879
77Palestine10,469+16375 3,7526,6422,04915155,35530,4115,108,442
78Bulgaria10,312338 5,3064,668331,48549235,79233,9536,944,559
79North Macedonia10,086+152460 5,4274,199554,84122195,16945,6802,083,368
80Bosnia and Herzegovina9,767280 4,5554,9322,97885128,93339,3173,279,315
81Senegal9,681+129191 +46,4093,0814957711101,6786,06316,769,360
82Madagascar9,295+42985 +75,5793,63189335337,9211,36727,732,292
83Norway9,111255 8,67418211,68047420,52877,5305,424,083
84Malaysia8,897+13124 +18,60017322754937,64528,94632,392,776
85DRC8,831+30204 5,5103,11798289,712,507
86Finland7,393+5329 6,9201441,33459339,22561,2175,541,323
87French Guiana7,33241 5,7671,5242524,51113736,205121,034299,130
88Haiti7,297+37157 +14,3652,7756391416,6491,45911,411,547
89Tajikistan7,192+4259 5,9701,16375369,550,428
90Gabon6,98449 4,4632,472113,1332267,76730,4052,228,837
91Guinea6,92742 6,09878724527314,4071,09513,153,183
92Luxembourg6,189112 4,6471,43039,877179394,582629,701626,618
93Mauritania6,151156 4,2991,69631,3213457,25312,2954,656,707
94Djibouti5,03958 4,949325,0955955,72656,351988,915
95Croatia4,857+65136 +33,86685591,18433110,51426,9324,103,402
96Albania4,637134 2,6371,866171,6114733,66911,7002,877,573
97CAR4,59859 1,5063,03329511229,2026,0404,834,996
98Hungary4,435+11596 3,329510645962319,85433,1169,658,585
99Zambia4,328139 1,9532,23618235876,0724,13118,413,183
100Paraguay4,32840 2,6791,609126066115,90616,2377,138,218
101Greece4,166201 1,3742,5911040019440,15642,24410,419,334
102Lebanon3,58247 1,6711,864315257254,02437,2296,823,217
103Malawi3,55794 1,5851,8784186526,6021,38919,158,578
104Nicaragua3,439108 2,492839519166,629,679
105Thailand3,291+958 3,1091241470.8685,3169,81769,812,168
106Maldives3,25215 2,498739126,0102870,845130,919541,136
107Somalia3,17893 1,5211,5642200615,918,419
108Equatorial Guinea3,07151 8422,1782,1853616,00011,3841,405,482
109Congo3,03851 7562,23155095,526,039
110Mayotte2,86238 2,650174310,47613913,00047,584273,202
111Sri Lanka2,777+711 2,10666011300.5143,6736,70821,419,425
112Montenegro2,74743 6642,04074,3746832,52751,789628,072
113Hong Kong2,634+12818 1,4951,121403512524,96969,9867,501,050
114Libya2,54758 5101,979370847,0386,8406,877,289
115Mali2,510+7123 1,911476124621,1431,04220,283,699
116Cuba2,495+1787 2,3495912208244,02021,54511,326,125
117Zimbabwe2,43434 5181,8821642118,2767,95014,876,706
118South Sudan2,25845 1,1751,038202412,0441,07511,202,270
119Cabo Verde2,25822 1,3638734,0584041,63474,830556,383
120Slovakia2,179+3828 1,57757423995253,47546,4255,459,829
121Eswatini2,14228 9401,17451,8452420,78417,9031,160,954
122Slovenia2,082+16116 1,67828821,00156127,04061,1082,078,958
123Estonia2,034+169 1,9224311,53352116,91388,1301,326,598
124Lithuania2,008+780 1,616312673829502,690184,8562,719,357
125Guinea-Bissau1,95426 8031,1255992131,5007611,970,748
126Iceland1,847+410 1,823145,41029120,734353,651341,393
127Namibia1,775+88+1751,69213698321,8068,5722,543,754
128Benin1,770+7635 +11,0366991146380,5276,63212,141,530
129Sierra Leone1,76866 1,29740522187,986,840
130Rwanda1,7529078401350.4238,00718,34912,970,988
131Yemen1,674474 7804205616120429,865,309
132Mozambique1,61611 5431,062520.451,4441,64331,305,140
133New Zealand1,55622 1,513213114455,67791,0975,002,100 
134Tunisia1,44350 1,1332603122489,3187,55211,826,749
135Suriname1,38123 85350572,353391,2442,119586,981
136Latvia1,219+1331 1,045143264716191,070101,3841,884,615
137Uruguay1,17434 947193333810101,06029,0863,474,562
138Jordan1,168+1411 1,04111631141558,45154,69710,209,819
139Liberia1,162+772 +1641449229145,064,710
140Georgia1,131+1416 92019552844201,51950,5243,988,618
141Niger1,12469 1,025304639,05237324,252,528
142Uganda1,103+1982119240.04256,0405,58845,820,261
143Burkina Faso1,08653 92011352320,935,989
144Cyprus1,05319 85218287216193,712160,3641,207,950
145Angola91639 2426351528110,00030432,922,623
146Chad91575 8103056516,452,449
147Andorra89752 8034211,6086733,75048,52977,274
148Sao Tome and Principe86214 6621863,929642,75612,561219,410
149Togo85317 5872492103240,3894,8728,290,203
150Jamaica837+610 711116283335,41711,9572,962,055
151Diamond Princess71213 651484
152Malta700+14665261,58520120,145272,052441,625
153San Marino69942 657020,5981,2385,729168,81833,936
154Botswana6865263312910.462,29626,4582,354,516
155Réunion657558964733335,41939,542895,742
156Syria650+2338 +220041237217,525,621
157Channel Islands58447 53343,35727030,721176,589173,969
158Tanzania50921 183305790.459,830,376
159Lesotho505+8612 +312836523667,4633,4822,143,387
160Taiwan45844011190.380,4993,38023,819,790
161Vietnam420+3365554275,0002,82497,396,784
162Burundi36127981300.0813,1051,10011,910,554
163Guyana36020 1801604458254,1885,323786,812
164Comoros354328194078870,717
165Myanmar349+12885560.1107,9281,98354,434,449
166Mauritius34410 33222708205,285161,3981,271,916
167Isle of Man33624 31203,9502827,82992,03785,064
168Bahamas32611 912241828283,93510,000393,493
169Mongolia2882187098833,12810,0953,281,612
170Gambia2776021111424,5151,8652,420,519
171Martinique26915 9815647174012,22732,584375,244
172Eritrea26318974743,549,565
173Cambodia2251438211358,4993,49616,733,787
174Faeroe Islands214+221882624,37833,149678,22748,876
175Guadeloupe20314 1761335073515,23538,075400,129
176Cayman Islands20320203,0861528,904439,45865,772
177Gibraltar18518055,49119,594581,59733,690
178Bermuda153139512,45714518,320294,24562,261
179Trinidad and Tobago1471281110566,5004,6441,399,802
180Brunei 1411380322737,05884,654437,756
181Aruba119102141,114289,41588,158106,797
182Monaco11610482,95510238,209973,20539,261
183Seychelles11439751,15998,388
184Barbados1089473762410,14035,282287,400
185Turks and Caicos97+5356012,503521,10328,46438,751
186Sint Maarten9315 63152,16735061214,26342,908
187Bhutan93+185812041,42853,652772,164
188Liechtenstein868142,2552690023,60038,136
189Antigua and Barbuda8260191837311,18912,13597,983
190Papua New Guinea62+231151710,0001,1168,957,444
191French Polynesia626022214,64916,543281,018
192St. Vincent Grenadines5239134691,83416,528110,964
193Saint Martin4941511,266781,08027,90238,707
194Belize48262012153,1667,953398,075
195Macao46460714,0716,264649,903
196Curaçao2924417761,0806,580164,139
197Fiji27189304,0004,460896,882
198Saint Lucia242221312,93415,973183,685
199Timor-Leste24240181,5681,1881,319,988
200Grenada232302045,46548,552112,559
201New Caledonia222207710,11935,421285,680
202Laos20191325,5013,5027,282,288
203Dominica181802501,00513,95971,998
204Saint Kitts and Nevis1715231994817,81253,224
205Falkland Islands131303,7291,816520,9413,486
206Greenland131302295,66699,79456,777
207Montserrat121012,4042006112,2204,992
208Vatican City1212014,981801
209Caribbean Netherlands117441942416,15926,239
210Western Sahara1081172598,199
211MS Zaandam97
212British Virgin Islands8702653343914,51530,245
213St. Barth7617091,246126,1269,879
214Saint Pierre Miquelon4136915,792
215Anguilla33020038025,31315,012
Total:16,285,353+96,150649,848+2,2749,961,1625,674,34366,2422,089.383.4
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