The COVID vaccine has been the focus of intense interest. What are the prospects and timeline to develop a COVID vaccine and what can we expect re: safety and efficacy? A look at issues surrounding the COVID vaccine.
pharma companies working to find a covid vaccine. vaccine will allow normal life
2 of the biggest ongoing efforts to develop a covid vaccin: WHO, more than 30 candidate vaccines in clinical trials and more than 140 in pre-clinical testing
When we’re infected by a virus, our immune system produces antibodies that fit with the parts of the virus. Vaccines expose us to a part of the virus. e.g. build immunity to just 1 protein of the virus. If we come into contact with virus later, our immune system recognizes it & makes antibodies
Testing candidate vaccine: pre-clinical phase, lab experiments and animal tests (do they produce antibodies? are there serious side effects). next is clinical testing. Phase 1: major side effects? do humans make antibodies? phase 2, phase 3: 30k. a huge trial. randomized controlled trials. half the people are given a shot without the vaccine
WHO tests all viable candidates. 172 countries have signed on. US has Operation Warp Speed. goal: start delivering vaccine by end 2020
normally you manufacture after a vaccine works. Warp Speed is making some vaccines before they know if it will work
One vaccine researcher suggests candidates were chosen for manufacturing efficiency. experts were asked to advise the clinical trials but were not consulted to choose vaccines. CDC told states to be ready for vaccine distribution on November 1
Warp Speed won’t consider vaccines from China.
Warp speed vs WHO (ensuring vaccine is “available to all countries”)
But companies warp speed is working with are also in the WHO operation
What if warp speed doesn’t come up with a good vaccine but the WHO does? I’m sure everyone would get the vaccine sooner or later
IMO more than 1 vaccine will work and the questions will be relative (more efficacy vs least safety concerns)
95% of symptomatic COVID cases produce antibodies and monkeys infected with the virus are resistant to reinfection
should we just distribute a vaccine before we’re sure it works because it’s ‘better than nothing’? We’ve seen this argument with other covid treatments. a vaccine can fail to protect against a virus and even make the disease worse (enhancement). so a vaccine be worse than nothing. That’s what the trials are for. That’s why we test vaccines until we have solid evidence
50% efficacy: 100 people in control group get COVID, 50 or less in vaccinated group
i’d be surprised if we don’t have a reasonably effective vaccine by mid 2021.
there will be a TON of politicizing with the vaccine. a vaccine that isn’t very safe and somewhat efficacious will not be licensed
more info on avoiding misinformation around covid. Tired of COVID? 7 facts about healthy food
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