Ten COVID-19 vaccine candidates are beginning to, or have already begun their third phase of clinical trials worldwide.

Before a vaccine candidate can be clinically tested, it must be approved by the World Health Organization (WHO). Once a company has created a vaccine candidate, the company can apply to start clinical testing with the WHO’s International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP). A clinical trial, according to WHO, is a three-to-four-phase process during which the trial vaccine is tested on groups of human patients.

When a vaccine candidate is developed, it needs to go through clinical trials before it can be approved. The first phase of clinical drug trials is to determine the safety and proper dosage. If deemed safe, phase two is conducted to determine the effectiveness of the drug. If the drug makes it to phase three, it is given to thousands of people to test for efficacy and safety.

Although, by the time a vaccine reaches clinical trials, it is meant for humans.

While testing may have only just begun for these companies, the knowledge of their efforts has not been on deaf ears. With a better understanding of the facts, people can better understand the realities and the hope for the future.