Although many countries have controlled the pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) through strict management, there are still many countries with record-breaking numbers of new cases. Therefore, it is very important to develop a vaccine that can cause wide cross reactivity in clinical trials. At present, more than 90 vaccines are entering clinical trials and progressing smoothly, including inactivated vaccines, adenovirus-vectored vaccines and other types of vaccines. Here, we review and summarize the efficacy and potential threats of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. We reviewed whole-virus vaccines, adenovirus-subunit vaccines and recombinant protein vaccines and discussed the positive and negative consequences of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. However, there are still heated debates on the mechanism, effectiveness, and breadth of protection. In conclusion, this study can predict the risk of new coronavirus outbreaks in the future by discussing the research and development status of new coronavirus vaccines in China and other countries. Looking to the future, it is important to mine the large amount of data generated in clinical trials of universal new coronavirus vaccines to ensure that these vaccine programs are equally useful in the face of new coronavirus mutations.