The current COVID-19 pandemic is a wake-up call pointing towards the
vulnerability of humankind as it has outstretched its arms to almost all the continents,
sparing few socially isolated ones. The highly contagious nature, ultra-stable genetic
makeup, novel modifications in open reading frame (ORF) region, air-born route of
transmission, and ability to cross the species barrier prove the potential of COVID-19
to elicit the global pandemic situation. In current times, when even known antibiotics
for combating several diseases are being rendered inefficacious owing to the rising
multidrug resistance among pathogenic strains, the panacea to a wide array of diseases
can be vaccination. A prominent characteristic for COVID-19 vaccine development is
that numerous technologies from lipid nanoparticle (LNP)-encapsulation, dendritic
cells (DCs)-based vaccines, antigen-presenting cells (artificial-APCs)-based vaccines,
and DNA plasmid-based platforms to viral vector approaches are being evaluated for
the cause. Certain vaccine development technologies may be better suited for some
parts of the global population, while others may prove to be more efficacious for the
other population subtypes. This may not only be arising due to geographical or ethnic
distinctions, but also physiological differences such as the presence of comorbidities,
immune profile of subjects, etc. In this chapter, we attempt to bring forth the various
approaches or molecular platforms that have been taken up or proposed for the
development of a vaccine against coronavirus disease. We also attempt to elaborate on
the pros and cons associated with each of the approaches that may be feasible due to
the distinctions in the various population subtypes.
Keywords: Air-borne transmission, Animal model, APCs-based vaccines,
Artificial-APCs, Comorbidities, COVID-19, DCs-based vaccines, DNA plasmidbased
platforms, Genetic makeup multidrug resistance, Global population,
Immune profile, Lipid nanoparticle (LNP), Molecular platforms, Novel
modifications, Pathogenic strains, Physiological differences, Population subtypes,
Vaccine development, Viral vector approaches.
