Desperately seeking the Covid-19 vaccine

Seven months after the worst global health crisis of the first century, competition is on the lookout for medical equivalents of the Holy Grail-Covid-19 vaccine.

To date, the new coronavirus has killed approximately 590,000 people worldwide and nearly 14 million people in 196 countries since the outbreak in China last year.

How to get the pandemic that caused the global economic turmoil back on track is a pressing multi-billion dollar problem for vaccine developers.

Earlier today, hackers sponsored by the Russian state were reported Covid-19 was trying to steal vaccine and therapeutic research According to the British National Cyber ​​Security Center (NCSC) from academic and pharmaceutical institutions around the world.

Meanwhile, American researchers Moderna Inc’s vaccine showed in early studies that all 45 healthy volunteers had a safe and immune response.

Here’s what you need to know about finding a vaccine that can block the deadly path for Covid-19:

How many vaccines are there?

In its latest evaluation this month, the World Health Organization identified 21 “vaccine candidates”-almost half involve Chinese companies or laboratories-after a series of global clinical trials.

Many are still in the so-called first phase, aiming to establish product safety and dosage. However, some have graduated from Phase 2 to investigate how effective the drug is.

Two candidate vaccines have reached stage 3. This allows developers to monitor issues such as the extent of potential toxicity on a much larger scale and test them under a wide range of conditions before final submission for approval.

The stage 3 vaccine includes a European project being developed at Oxford University in collaboration with AstraZeneca and a Chinese variant of biopharmaceutical company Sinovac in collaboration with the Brazilian research buttantan.

The Sinovac project is one of the most advanced projects. This month, volunteers in Brazil will start testing the vaccine.

Canadian clinical trials, including CanSino Biologics, were also previously approved, and the company announced last month that the Chinese military has approved a vaccine that would be useful in development for use within its ranks.

Sinofam, which is piloting with the United Arab Emirates, completed the construction of a new production facility with a capacity of 100 million doses on July 1, Chinese officials said on social media.

WHO is monitoring 139 potential vaccines under preclinical evaluation, including tests in animals, in addition to tests already in progress.

Britain, Canada and the United States this week accused Moscow-related hackers of targeting laboratories in their countries doing coronavirus vaccine research.

Which technique?

There are different approaches and techniques for proven or vaccines.

Some teams are working on inactivated “classic” vaccines that use “killed” viral germs, while others, known as attenuated or weakened varieties, Use a live virus with low toxicity.

Other types still include “subunit” vaccines that contain fragments of the pathogen from which they are derived in order to generate the proper immune response.

Dr. Delfraissy has 30 resulting vaccine injections (tested) announced.

Second, there are more innovative “viral vector” varieties that use live virus to deliver DNA to human cells to elicit an immune response.

Take measles-like virus as an example, modify it with coronavirus proteins, and deploy against Covid-19, as the Pasteur Institute does.

Second, there are new developments involving gene-based DNA or RNA vaccines using modified fragments of genetic material.

“The more vaccine candidates and the more types of candidate vaccines, the more likely you are to go somewhere,” said Daniel Furore, vice chairman of the French Technical Vaccination Commission.

Results so far

At this time, only partial results have been published, and some are called “promising” by the companies behind them.

Jean-François Delfraissy, chairman of the French Science Council, must scrutinize allegations of possible commercial effects, but unconfirmed breakthroughs can be immense. Said.

“There are significant implications for the pharmaceutical industry from announcements that need to be watched carefully,” immunologists told AFP.

“30 vaccination shots (tested) announced as a result-yes, it’s not a result,” said Dr Delfraissy.

Daniel Florette has agreed that many announcements are at least as directed at the stock market as the public.

“It’s by no means neutral. It’s important to show them that they are speeding things up, but we need to look at the results and make sure nothing has happened so far.”

Go fast?

All the while, under pressure to find ways to deal with pandemics, procedures are increasing around the world like never before.

“The things are going at a knot rate… and the project is going a little faster than expected,” said Christoph Denfert of the Pasteur Institute.

States and large foundations alike have fallen to drive funding efforts.

And while the United States wants to go it alone, Europe and most other countries are considering cooperation.

By January, the Trump administration has set an “Operation Warp Speed” to administer a safe and effective vaccine for Covid-19, essentially 300 million doses for US citizens.

I don’t think the vaccine will be (very) realistic by autumn. You need to relieve such enthusiasm.

Delfraissy said the company’s first business is “while developing a vaccine, at the same time trying to introduce an industrial process to manufacture the vaccine, but usually wait for results.”

“That’s why they want the country to raise money:” We are taking risks (developing), perhaps starting with a nonfunctional vaccine, and if we introduce an industrial (production) process , We are partly covered by international finance.”

Security issues

“To approve all Covid-19 vaccines, the EMA needs strong evidence from clinical trials for the safety, efficacy, and quality of this vaccine,” the EU Agency, the European Medicines Agency warned. ..

Daniel Florette said increasing the pace of clinical trials “may cause problems” with regard to safety, and adds “the key to proving that the vaccine does not exacerbate the disease.”

He recalled that it happened in several trials in monkeys “during vaccine development trials of MERS-CoV and SARS,” another strain of coronavirus.

A similar problem arose with the discontinuation of some measles tests in humans in the 1960s, as well as with the similarly discontinued test of bronchiolitis, Floret said.

how long?

EMA warns, “It is difficult to predict the timeline for vaccine development.”

It says it may take up to next year for the Covid-19 vaccine to reach widespread availability based on the previous development schedule.

Still, some companies are optimistic that they can raise their trumps by the end of the year.

In Floret’s view, “It’s not clear that the existence of a vaccine by the fall is very realistic. We need to temper that enthusiasm.”

Given that the first quarter of next year is more likely and the normal development schedule is a couple of years, “if we get there by then, we should already be doing very well.”

how is it?

The world now awaits vaccines as the only surefire way to defeat pandemics. But what if I don’t arrive?

Dr. Delfraissy said: “We have never completed a vaccine against the coronavirus.

“There is some uncertainty in our ability to perfect a vaccine against the coronavirus-but we have all the ingredients to get there,” he stressed.

“Everything is possible, the greatest possible means and different technologies are there, and it would be amazing if we didn’t go there.”

Even so, when researchers reach the final stage, big questions remain. In a world of growing distrust of vaccination, do people accept getting vaccinated?

Probably not.

Phoebe Danziger, a pediatrician at the University of Michigan, told The New York Times, “We haven’t addressed people’s concerns about vaccines yet because of the repeated outbreaks of measles.”

“And without learning from their unsuccessful response to them, the coronavirus vaccine program will be doomed.”