JoVE BLOG | JoVE

Visually Explained: How Exactly Are Vaccines Developed?

Written by Supriya Kamath | May 12, 2021 4:00:00 AM

Within a few months of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, laboratories around the world had successfully developed vaccine technologies and begun clinical trials. Some months after that, vaccine manufacturing and distribution had entered full swing. Today, just over a year later, about 4.2% of the world’s population has been fully inoculated.

The pace of vaccine development has been extraordinary, but what was going on behind the scenes? What goes into designing a vaccine, and ensuring that it is safe & effective?

This May, we want to help you visualize stages in the development of a vaccine, from its theoretical basis to clinical testing, production and delivery. 

Scientists from around the world — including immunologists and vaccine scientists — publish step-by-step video demonstrations of their research methods in JoVE Journal. We’ve brought together a selection of these peer-reviewed video articles, spanning different phases of the vaccine innovation process, in a special playlist. 

Explore ‘Vaccines’, our featured playlist of the month, here.