Top contenders in the race for a COVID-19 vaccine

Scientists around the world are in a race to develop Covid-19 vaccines in record time.
As of now, almost 100 research groups are working round the clock to develop a potential vaccine for the coronavirus, and only a handful of vaccines are in early stages of testing in humans.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said a vaccine is "definitely not a long shot,” but said that one that is viable could take at least a year to 18 months.
Here are the top drugs in development or being studied:
ChAdOx1 nCoV-19/ Oxford University: This vaccine incorporates a weak version of the common cold virus to produce an immune response that will help the body identify COVID-19. It is still in phase 1 testing, and healthy volunteers have already been injected as part of safety testing.
mRNA-1273/ Moderna: The Massachusetts-based biotech firm has got FDA fast track designation for this vaccine, already in clinical trials. It works by using RNA to penetrate human cells to make proteins similar to COVID viral proteins. This causes an immune response that helps the body recognize and fight off COVID-19. The phase 1 trial is nearly completed and phase 2 trial set to start this summer.
PiCoVacc/ Sinovac Biotech: This Chinese-based biotech company is testing a vaccine that will induce specific antibodies to fight the virus. The vaccine has been tested on mice, rats and monkeys with reportedly positive results. Human trials are currently underway.
BNT162/ Pfizer & BioNTech: This joint venture by the U.S. pharmaceutical giant and the German-based BioNTech also uses RNA as a way to produce an immune response, similar to Moderna’s vaccine. It is in Phase I/II of clinical trials.
INO-4800/ Inovio: Currently undergoing phase 1 trials, the Pennsylvania-based Inovio Pharmaceuticals got in early in the vaccine race. This vaccine adds genetic material of the virus inside synthetic DNA, which researchers hope will cause the immune system to make antibodies against it.
Bacillus Calmette-Guerin: The 100-year-old “BCG” vaccine normally used for tuberculosis is being studied for use against COVID-19 because in countries that administer BCG, like in South Africa, the spread of Covid-19 seems to be slower. Clinical trials are currently underway to see if inoculations for TB gives patients the ability to fight off other pathogens.