The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as a result of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, since December 2019, is a major health problem and concern worldwide. The pandemic has impacted various fields, from the social to the development of health science and technology. The virus has been mutating and thus producing several new variants, rushing research in the field of molecular biology to develop rapidly to overcome the problems that occur. Vaccine clinical studies are developing promptly with the aim of obtaining vaccines that are effective in suppressing the spread of the virus; however, the development of viral mutations raises concerns about the decreasing effectiveness of the resulting vaccine, which also results in the need for more in-depth studies. There have been 330 vaccines developed, including 136 clinical developments and 194 pre-clinical developments. The SARS-CoV-2 variant continues to evolve today, and it poses a challenge in testing the effectiveness of existing vaccines. This is a narrative review describing the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, development of vaccine platforms, identification of concerning mutations and virus variants in various countries of the world, and real-world monitoring of post-vaccination effectiveness and surveillance.
Keywords: COVID-19; mutated SARS-CoV-2 virus; post vaccine surveillance; vaccine.