To vaccinate the world Local News

PLATTSBURGH When asked, Dr. Wouter Rietsema could not think of another scientific or technological development whose speed and importance compared to the successful creation of COVID-19 vaccines.

“You set out with the daunting task of how to develop vaccines to vaccinate the world which is a pretty big question and to do it quickly,” he told Press-Republic in a recent interview.

“There was such a great need and global will to fund that need.”

FIRST RESEARCH

According to Rietsema, research into a coronavirus vaccine of which there are many different types began with the outbreak of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) in the early 2000s.

SARS, like COVID-19, is caused by a coronavirus. Although not as contagious, it caused severe pneumonia that killed many.

Later, another disease caused by the coronavirus, called MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome), appeared, but since it was contained, only selected researchers continued to work on the coronavirus vaccines, Rietsema said.

“As the years went by, we did not have the will to fund it.

At the same time, a global effort was being made to look at the use of messenger RNA as a means of generating an immune response against conditions such as cancer.

Rietsema said the use was moderately effective, as the method worked well to create antibodies, but the antibodies did not work well to treat the cancer. Still, scientists knew that the mRNA method could be used to rapidly develop the vaccine.

NOT VERY FAST

Rietsema denied that COVID-19 vaccines had been developed too quickly.

“Science did not move faster than it normally did in the development of vaccines.”

Normally, the process follows a very defined pace, Rietsema explained. During phase 1, the vaccine is given to some people in order to help determine the right dose or if there are any terrible side effects.

After evaluation and research, pharmaceutical companies can move on to Phase 2, which involves vaccinating a larger group of people, in low thousands, and similarly looking at dosage and side effects, the less efficiency.

“A lot of the things they (private pharmaceutical companies) develop, whether drugs or vaccines, do not pass Phase 1, or are enlightened about Phase 2 and do not pass it,” Rietsema said.

If the slow and detailed process reaches Stage 3, many thousands of people will be vaccinated and it may take many, even years, to determine if it works, depending on the disease.

Then during Phase 4, referred to as post-marketing surveillance, the vaccine is studied for a long time in order, in part, to monitor for rare side effects.

GOVERNMENT RISK ACCUSED

Two things made the process of developing COVID-19 vaccines different, Rietsema said.

First, the US and many other governments assumed all the financial risk that companies would normally take into account during development. Although Pfizer did not receive federal funding for the production and development of its vaccine, it did get a $ 1.95 billion purchase deal to deliver 100 million doses, The New York Times reported.

By taking the risk from governments and providing incentives, this allowed enterprises, in a sense, to overlap the phases.

“They were doing things at the same time compared to one after another,” Rietsema said. “They were already planning and developing and recruiting Phase 2, so when Phase 1 was completed, they were immediately ready to move on to Phase 2.

“When you remove all the money risk, it’s really easy to move really fast for pharmaceutical companies.”

SHORTTER PHASE 3

The second difference was that the phase 3 efficacy tests turned out to be much shorter.

“In the midst of a global pandemic, some of the trials lasted only three or four months, there were so many cases,” Rietsema said.

“Science was the same. The only thing that was not done was long-term study.”

With most vaccines, you want to know how long they remain effective and if any rare side effects occur, Rietsema said. As a result, most are not approved until years and years of data are provided.

“Obviously with millions of people dying worldwide, winning from an effective vaccine far outweighs the rare case where there are severe side effects,” Rietsema added.

INFORM THE PANDEMICS OF THE FUTURE

Rietsema believes it is too early to say whether the development of COVID-19 vaccines will lead to a more proactive than reactive approach to funding similar projects.

Everyone is motivated to do so now, he continued, adding that we are also learning a lot about mRNA vaccines like the Pfizer and Moderna candidates that currently have emergency use authorization in the United States.

Numerous sales have reported how the Moderna vaccine was created two days after the genetic compound SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, became available.

This does not necessarily mean that all future vaccines will use mRNA technology, but it proves that we know how to develop vaccines quickly, Rietsema added.

“The Pfizer vaccine is a little different than the Moderna vaccine. In the long run, when we find out which is better, which mechanism is better, learning that will inform future pandemics, whether it is a coronavirus or something else.”

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