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Scientists around the world are racing to develop a vaccine for the novel coronavirusthat has killed tens of thousands of people since late December. Dozens of companies and institutions are leading the charge at a record pace, and some already have begun the first phase of clinical trials. Yet researchers continue to warn that it could take at least a year to 18 monthsbefore a vaccine is ready for public use—a long time to wait for what many see as the best hope to stem the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19.
Most vaccines don’t cure diseases; they prevent you from getting infected in the first place. Vaccines contain the same germ (or part of a germ) that causes a disease, but in a killed or weakened state so that it doesn't actually make you sick. The immune system learns about the pathogen, stores information about it, and produces antibodies against it so that the next time it appears, the body can fight it off.
Vaccines have been around only for a couple hundred years, but the concept...
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