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Vaccine by Nov. 3? Halted study explains just how unlikely

JacksinPA

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Vaccine by Nov. 3? Halted study explains just how unlikely

WASHINGTON (AP) — The suspension of a huge COVID-19 vaccine study over an illness in a single participant shows there will be “no compromises” on safety in the race to develop the shot, the chief of the National Institutes of Health told Congress on Wednesday.

AstraZeneca has put on hold studies of its vaccine candidate in the U.S. and other countries while it investigates whether a British volunteer’s illness is a side effect or a coincidence.

“This ought to be reassuring,” NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins said before a Senate committee. “When we say we are going to focus first on safety and make no compromises, here is Exhibit A of how that is happening in practice.”

Scientists have been scrambling to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus since the outbreak began, and the U.S. has launched the world’s largest studies — final-stage testing of three leading candidates, with three more trials set to come soon that will each recruit 30,000 test subjects.
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Seven or eight months to develop a safe & effective vaccine by Nov. 3 is science fiction. The coroinavirus family (MERS, SARS, COVID-19) are highly evolved & very complex, with tricks for defeating a host's immune system. And antibodies against COVID-19 are not long-lived, possibly requiring repeated revaccination. And only a small fraction of the population is going to get the first shots, leaving big gaps in immune coverage.
 

Ikari

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I wouldn't hold my breath, though we do need to keep pushing and refining to try to get a vaccine as quickly as possible. If we can get a safe and effective vaccine, it can only help us.
 

bongsaway

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You thought he meant this election day? He was joking. Trump, I don't joke.
 

JacksinPA

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I wouldn't hold my breath, though we do need to keep pushing and refining to try to get a vaccine as quickly as possible. If we can get a safe and effective vaccine, it can only help us.

HIV/AIDS first appeared in the 1980s. Forty years later & we still don't have a vaccine for HIV.
 

Taylor

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HIV/AIDS first appeared in the 1980s. Forty years later & we still don't have a vaccine for HIV.
There is no immune response for HIV. Traditional vaccines don't work.
 

snakestretcher

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HIV/AIDS first appeared in the 1980s. Forty years later & we still don't have a vaccine for HIV.

No, but we do have antiretrovirals which are effective in keeping the viral load down to zero detectability, meaning it's difficult to pass the disease onto others or allow it to develop into late-stage HIV because it cannot replicate itself.

What Are Antiretrovirals and How Do They Work?
 
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JacksinPA

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No, but we do have antiretrovirals which are effective against developing AIDS from HIV.

Anti-viral drugs are very reasonable alternatives to elusive vaccines. Taking a couple of pills in the morning is a lot easier than getting vaccinated every few months.

There are several target molecules in this virus that would be susceptible to anti-viral drugs. And many more people will be willing to take pills rather than getting shots.
 

bluesmoke

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Vaccine by Nov. 3? Halted study explains just how unlikely

WASHINGTON (AP) — The suspension of a huge COVID-19 vaccine study over an illness in a single participant shows there will be “no compromises” on safety in the race to develop the shot, the chief of the National Institutes of Health told Congress on Wednesday.

AstraZeneca has put on hold studies of its vaccine candidate in the U.S. and other countries while it investigates whether a British volunteer’s illness is a side effect or a coincidence.

“This ought to be reassuring,” NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins said before a Senate committee. “When we say we are going to focus first on safety and make no compromises, here is Exhibit A of how that is happening in practice.”

Scientists have been scrambling to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus since the outbreak began, and the U.S. has launched the world’s largest studies — final-stage testing of three leading candidates, with three more trials set to come soon that will each recruit 30,000 test subjects.
======================================================================
Seven or eight months to develop a safe & effective vaccine by Nov. 3 is science fiction. The coroinavirus family (MERS, SARS, COVID-19) are highly evolved & very complex, with tricks for defeating a host's immune system. And antibodies against COVID-19 are not long-lived, possibly requiring repeated revaccination. And only a small fraction of the population is going to get the first shots, leaving big gaps in immune coverage.


AstraZeneca had no data to support what they were doing that is the norm for recognizing state of vaccine advance for which they were credited in receiving govt grant as is happening with $billions$ of dollars going to other data-unsupported "companies" in Trump's pure promo-hyped marketing "Warp Speed" program. IMO, when Trump sat with one of these flim-flam CEO's, at a roundtable meeting with others, who was corrected by Fauci when hyping by when his company would have the vaccine ready is when Trump decided to cut-off Fauci.
 

Praxas

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HIV/AIDS first appeared in the 1980s. Forty years later & we still don't have a vaccine for HIV.

No but we have treatments that have greatly increased the lifespan of someone with HIV.
 
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