Vaccines and COVID: Shot in the Arm or Shot in the Dark?

November 7, 2020 / 10:30 - 11:30 am

Program Track: Emerging Concepts and Innovative Therapies

The SARS-CoV2 infection has affected 42 million individuals and killed over a million. In the face of a global pandemic, the search for an effective vaccine remains an urgent priority. However, developing a vaccine is not always possible, and the journey is not an easy one, fraught with many wrong turns and missteps. One famous example is the lack of a vaccine to the HIV virus, even though the disease has affected mankind since 1960. This presentation will discuss how the mammalian immune system protects us from viral infections and the ways in which this protection can be harnessed to create vaccines. This session will also present the science that has driven vaccine development against the SARS-CoV2 virus and the current status of these vaccines, and how they might impact not only our lives but also the practice of periodontics.

Educational Objectives:

• Review the mechanisms underlying innate and acquired immune responses to SARS CoV2
• Discuss the potential disadvantages and limitations the human immune system in preventing COVID
• Introduce and discuss the latest developments in vaccine development against COVID