Dr. Larry Corley, star of global virology, leads the search for the COVID-19 vaccine

Dr. Larry Corley, a global virological star, is at one of the hottest seats of the COVID-19 pandemic. From his Seattle headquarters, he heads the Operations Center. COVID-19 Prevention Network, A national collaboration of academic and industry researchers whose mission is to develop a vaccine (or perhaps multiple vaccines) to help end the pandemic.

So he is almost always in the meeting. “I’m on Zoom from 5:30 am to 6 pm and then I get 300 emails,” he says. He not only coordinates the efforts of dozens of clinical trial sites for multiple vaccine candidates, but also talks to the media and the public.

The search for an effective COVID-19 vaccine, called “Operation Warp Speed” by the theater-loving administration, is the most aggressive development project. History of vaccination, The purpose of effective vaccines by the beginning of next year is specified.

[Read: Dr. Peter Hotez Combats Antiscience While Working on a Coronavirus Vaccine.]

Corey says one factor that gives him a fighting chance to reach that goal is the huge investment in the development of the AIDS vaccine that he continues to launch and direct. “You can pivot,” says Corey. “We have a very sophisticated laboratory and an incredible infrastructure of clinics, and this is what we all do for life.”

Based at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, where Corey has spent most of his career, he is a Principal Investigator in the HIV Vaccine Testing Network, the largest international effort dedicated to the development of the HIV vaccine. He served as president of the center from 2010 to 2014 and then returned to the virology lab full time. Corey was one of the first to contact Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a long-time friend and collaborator. The need for the COVID-19 vaccine It has jumped to the top of national health issues.

The AIDS vaccine has escaped decades of research, but Corey is considering SARS-CoV-2. COVID-19 (new coronavirus infectious disease) (# If there is no character limit, add parentheses when first appearing, A more manageable opponent HIV.. “We know that we have achieved something that HIV doesn’t have. We neutralize antibodies against all circulating strains,” he says. Antibodies are one way the immune system fights infections, and the body automatically adjusts them to infected pathogens as much as possible. Occasionally, these pathogens change over time so that the antibody’s effectiveness is diminished or not at all, which gives rise to different “strains.” Fortunately, SARS-CoV-2 strains appear to be relatively stable, which is good news for vaccine efforts. “HIV mutates two base pairs per hour and COVID mutates two base pairs per month,” he said, a virus that could change the virus enough to eventually nullify the vaccine. Mention small genetic changes in. “I also know that some people’s immune systems can clear COVID. This is something that is not found in HIV.”

Corey first got used to COVID-19 in January after returning to Seattle from an HIV conference in South Africa. He fled the pandemic and took the plane back home from Europe to read for the next few weeks. “What a formidable germ!” he exclaims. “I knew there was a problem.”

Corey points out that “warp speed” is based on biology and therefore does not apply to the scientific part of vaccine development, which cannot be rushed or significantly speeded up from normal pace. Proof of safety and effectiveness should be a priority. This is the paperwork portion where the project has been shortened by weeks, months, and even years from the normal approval process. According to Corey, the study was designed to be answered in 6 to 7 months, and the reality is that results will begin to be available by winter. Meanwhile, manufacturers are cranking out millions of doses on a “at risk” basis, even before the trials are complete. That is, if the vaccines prove to be non-functional, they may be discarded. But with it, it’s available in large quantities immediately.

[Read: Dr. Sanjay Gupta — Holding America’s Hand Through the Pandemic.]

The half dozen vaccine candidates currently in clinical trials take a slightly different approach to the problem, but all focus on what Corey calls the SARS-CoV-2 “landing gear”. The familiar protein spike cells that allow them to attach to the body. The purpose of the vaccine is to train the immune system to make antibodies that attack those spikes. Corey states that it is impossible for people to get COVID-19 from them, as the vaccine targets the outside of the viral particle, not the DNA inside.

Candidates go through the first two phases of the clinical trial, with safety (Phase 1) and efficacy (Phase 2) in vaccines producing measurable immune responses against the virus in a small group of healthy volunteers Was established). Now they are on Phase 3. Larger trial of 30,000 volunteers for each vaccine candidate to see how well each works for more people, discovering safety issues that were missed in previous phases, and which groups to address Make sure you have the best for your particular vaccine. These larger trials should capture any variation based on age, gender, ethnicity, health, or other factors.

Phase 3 testing of multiple vaccines requires many volunteers, Corey Sign up On the network website. “We need to help US citizens find out how well these jobs work,” he said, so the more people sign up, the better the exam has the exact characteristics they want to study. You are more likely to find a good volunteer. The research center conducting the test will also directly recruit volunteers.

Corey has long been one of the best virologists in the country. In the 1980s, he developed acyclovir in collaboration with Nobel Prize-winning biochemist and pharmacologist Gertrude Elion (“Aunt Trudie for Cory’s children”). Herpes.. He found that the first effective AIDS treatment, AZT, and HIV infection from automatic death sentences. Manageable chronic disease.. His wife’s father worked for the March of Dimes, an organization founded by Franklin D. Roosevelt to eradicate polio, and Jonas Salk, the inventor of the first polio vaccine, attended his wedding. did.

[See: Dr. Anthony Fauci: Fighting the Coronavirus Pandemic ‘Is My Entire World.’]

Life-changing posts during the Vietnam War took him away from his initial goal of becoming a cardiologist and introduced him to his life job of fighting the virus. Medical students were able to postpone military service until their residence was over and then join the Public Health Service. After completing his medical training at the University of Michigan, Cory was sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta and assigned to the Division of Viral Diseases. “My life has changed over the last two years,” he says. “It was a lot of fun.” At CDC, he studied Reye’s syndrome, a rare swelling of the brain and liver of a child. This syndrome was most likely to appear after receiving aspirin during an influenza or chickenpox attack. His group found that acetaminophen did not cause Reye’s syndrome. That’s why today’s parents heat their children with Tylenol. The product formerly known as “baby aspirin” has been rebranded to “low dose” aspirin with strict warnings to avoid giving it to children.

Corey does not have the time to volunteer for a vaccine trial, nor does he intend to favor certain candidates. “We want to work for them all,” he says. He has no particular expectations but wants to see one or more vaccines that are at least 80% effective. He can’t jump off to California to see his grandson and misses Focchi and his monthly dinner at his favorite Washington restaurant. “When I have an effective vaccine, I’m lined up to take it.”

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Dr. Larry Corley, star of global virology, leads the search for the COVID-19 vaccine Originally appeared usnews.com