First of all, what is a virus? A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that can only reproduce inside a living organism (which is their host). The COVID-19 coronavirus is a respiratory disease, which means that it travels through the nose or the mouth and it infects the lungs. When you get the virus, symptoms include coughing, wheezing, finding it hard to breath or fever. Some people with coronavirus never even knew they had it, but others can even die if they have it.
Scientists are now racing to find a cure for this wicked and cruel pandemic that has plagued this planet. Inovio Pharmaceuticals came up with an idea. They thought they could use the vaccine for MERS to cure this virus. But in the end, they found that this coronavirus was too different for the MERS vaccine to cure. For the SARS-CoV-2 virus, they took a different approach. They converted the virus's DNA into RNA, they also selected pieces of the virus that computer models suggested would prod the immune system into making antibodies. Then they inserted selected bits of the DNA into bacteria. Those bacteria now used instructions in the bits of DNA to make large quantities of the viral protein. And it's those proteins that will be used in the vaccine. This process shortens the process of making a vaccine. But although this shortens the process, the vaccine Inovio is producing is still a year away from widespread use. Another type of vaccine scientists are coming up with is that they can use the antibodies produced from humanized-mice to inject into healthy and non-infected students. They can also use those antibodies to treat already infected patients.
The race to form a vaccine for this horrible and cruel virus is speeding up, and within a year, these experts and scientists hope to form a vaccine that can be used worldwide. But until the vaccine for this coronavirus has been completed, stay strong and healthy, stay at home, wear masks, and don't get infected.