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Covid-19 - Treatments & Vaccines

I wonder how much the FDA will fast track this vaccine if it does show positive results in phase 2 and 3 trials. I still don't think it is realistic to think we have a mass-produced vaccine by years end.

No worries, It's going to disappear right after the November election.
 
No worries, It's going to disappear right after the November election.

Or if they do find a vaccine ahead of time, I can only hear the narrative coming out of the Trump camp

"Democrats will setup health tents and only give the vaccine to people who are registered as Democrats.... They will inject poison into anyone who is voting for Trump"/
 
How are Democrats going to do that while only voting by mail?
 
With Trumpublicans running the show, all sides will struggle to trust the gub’mint when they say the vaccine is safe and effective.
 
Looks promising, would need to see neutralizing antibody data because overall making antibodies isn't really the problem. Will be addressed at the proper level during the phase 2 and 3 trials, the problem for those stages is there is no expediting them. To make the correct statistical conclusion of protection those will need to run for months because they aren't going to be direct challenges (No longer possible with ethical considerations) so timescale is still early 2021, though I wouldn't be surprised if things aren't just half-assed for speed.

Supposedly mass production of the vaccine will be concurrent with the phase 2 and 3 trials. The goal is to have hundreds of million doses available when FDA approves the vaccine.
 
To be more specific, I’m worried we’re going to over rush the process and allow political and financial and short term interests to Trump safety, effectiveness, public health and adequately vetted/reviewed ones.


I hope this is not so.
 
How are Democrats going to do that while only voting by mail?
Remember, each democrat votes multiple times in the same election...both in person and by mail. Remember those historic levels of voter fraud for obama?
 
To be more specific, I’m worried we’re going to over rush the process and allow political and financial and short term interests to Trump safety, effectiveness, public health and adequately vetted/reviewed ones.


I hope this is not so.

The FDA has to get this right, both on the safety and effectiveness fronts. There are enough anti-vaxxers just waiting to pounce if there are issues with the Covid-19 vaccine.

FDA staff has some good people. The question is whether or not they will be allowed to evaluate based on science and not be pushed by political considerations.
 
There are lot of ridiculously smart and creative people in the world, and when those people get focused on one issue, like generating a vaccine for COVID 19 and finding a way to mass produce it, amazing what can be done when people work together. This is like no other vaccine creation and trial period in history; as a result, normal practice of years to create, test and approve a vaccine are not applicable. So, nothing would surprise me, including the creation of a mass produced and widely available vaccine by the end of the year.
 
I'm repeating this link about the military development of a vaccine candidate.

https://news.yahoo.com/another-one-was-coming-army-scientists-working-on-vaccine-had-long-feared-emergence-of-new-coronaviruses-090045135.html

The use of a common human protein, ferritin, should minimize unwanted reactions. Also the 24 spots available on the molecule should allow a vaccine built this way to be able to be easily modified in case of mutations.

I hope the military got a strong wake up call with the USS Roosevelt and will fund this through all phases of development. The military could continue development even if a commercial company gets to market first.

$100 million is small change in weapons development. The same could go a long way to keeping the people healthy.
 
I'm repeating this link about the military development of a vaccine candidate.

https://news.yahoo.com/another-one-was-coming-army-scientists-working-on-vaccine-had-long-feared-emergence-of-new-coronaviruses-090045135.html

The use of a common human protein, ferritin, should minimize unwanted reactions. Also the 24 spots available on the molecule should allow a vaccine built this way to be able to be easily modified in case of mutations.

I hope the military got a strong wake up call with the USS Roosevelt and will fund this through all phases of development. The military could continue development even if a commercial company gets to market first.

$100 million is small change in weapons development. The same could go a long way to keeping the people healthy.

Given that the 21st Century battlefield is almost certainly biological and technological, it would actually be money spent to keep Americans safe rather than just pork barrel airplanes to go pew pew pew.
 
Given that the 21st Century battlefield is almost certainly biological and technological, it would actually be money spent to keep Americans safe rather than just pork barrel airplanes to go pew pew pew.

The combat military officers may not know much about biology, but they definitely know that well functioning troops are an asset and sick soldiers, sailors and airmen are liabilities. The high incidence of disease on the USS Roosevelt may well have been an additional driver. A major fighting element was (and is) out of commission because of a disease. The military will work very hard to prevent that from happening again.

The military already has a very aggressive stance toward vaccinating against anything and everything that has a vaccine. They will be more aggressive in the development of a vaccine independent of any commercial effort. The WRAIR effort is developing a vaccine using ferritin protein as the carrier for just the infective "spike" of the coronavirus.There are two notable advantages to the vaccine candidate being developed at WRAIR:

First, the ferritin protein is common to all human beings. Indeed, some type of ferritin is found in most living organisms. Ferritin is found all over the body. Thus, it would be a good carrier to get the Covid-19 antigen to any and all parts of the body. This might be helpful in combating some of the non-respiratory pathology from this virus.

Second, the complete ferritin protein is assembled from 24 subunits. In theory, each of these sub-units could carry a different genetic variant of the Corona virus spike. Also, 24 challenge spikes may elicit a greater and/or more rapid reaction from the body's immune system. 24 "invaders" may get more notice by the immune system than just one or two.

ETA:

$75 or $100 million is small change in military systems development. But it is big bucks in medical research.
 
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Imagine if we spend more defense small change on medical research. We could actually save lives.
 
First, the ferritin protein is common to all human beings. Indeed, some type of ferritin is found in most living organisms. Ferritin is found all over the body. Thus, it would be a good carrier to get the Covid-19 antigen to any and all parts of the body. This might be helpful in combating some of the non-respiratory pathology from this virus.

Second, the complete ferritin protein is assembled from 24 subunits. In theory, each of these sub-units could carry a different genetic variant of the Corona virus spike. Also, 24 challenge spikes may elicit a greater and/or more rapid reaction from the body's immune system. 24 "invaders" may get more notice by the immune system than just one or two.

Two points about these statements. The first is ferritin being found through out the body has no real benefit for the development of an immune response to an infection. The antigen will be seen, the antigen will be taken up and will be trafficked to a lymphnode/ lymphoid organ where the necessary antigen presentation, help, and replication will be made to generate B-cells and Plasma cells which will pump out antibodies, these cells will follow chemokines to sites of ongoing infection throughout the body. The only places where it would have difficulty distributing to would be immune privileged sites and through the blood/brain barrier. This is the reason why you can give a vaccine for any type of disease through the skin even though the skin isnt infected. The real benefit would be that ferritin being naturally occurring would mean no immune response to the carrier so less chance of adverse reaction.

Second more antigen isn't better unless the antigen is going to produce an antibody that is neutralizing. In fact more antibody production to non-neutralizing antigens is worse than if they werent included at all. The one advantage would be more of the antigen that generates a neutralizing effect, but only in so far that the initial dosage could be reduce which leads to less adverse reactions. The biggest as mentioned would be variant, but seeing so far there doesn't appear to be variation so hopefully not seasonal changes but never know until more time passes.
 
Another large study that says chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine are harmful, not helpful in treating Covid-19. It appears this is true whether or not either one was combined with antibiotics such as azithromycin or clarithromycin. it is not a randomized study, but rather a retrospective study of patients and outcomes.

Washington Post story

Lancet Report of study
 
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