The US wants two Covid-19 vaccines by the end of November

The two US companies plan to apply for urgent approval of the COVID-19 vaccine by late November. We welcome the news as the United States suffers a third outbreak of coronavirus and approaches 8 million.

Pfizer said on Friday that it hopes to advance the vaccine after safety data becomes available in the third week of November, a few weeks after November 3. Presidential election..

The announcement means that the United States may be able to prepare two vaccines by the end of the year, and Massachusetts biotechnology company Moderna aims to seek approval on November 25.

The company’s chairman and CEO, Albert Bourla, said in an open letter, “Given positive data, Pfizer applied for emergency approval in the United States shortly after the safety milestone was reached in the third week of November. I’ll make it clear what to do. ” The news boosted the company’s share price in the United States by 2%.

But experts warn that even if the vaccine is approved, it will take months before it becomes widely available.

In any case, they are unlikely to be good alternatives to wearing masks, Avoid crowds And other recommended actions to suppress transmission, as they do not know how effective they are.

Indoor rally in the cold season

The country reached an inflection point in it after the numbers declined throughout the summer Coronavirus Occurring around the second week of September, the latest figures show that the average number of new cases per day is over 50,000 and the trajectory is up.

With less than 8 million confirmed infections and more than 217,000 deaths, the United States is the most devastating country in the world.

The United States never returned to baseline after the first wave of spring. So the current spike can be more accurately called the third surge.

Geographically, the major hotspots are in the Upper Midwest and parts of the Rocky Mountains west, and outbreaks are beginning to reignite in parts of the northeast, which was hit hard in the spring.

Harvard surgeon and health policy researcher Thomas Tsai said the number of cases increased during tests in the Midwest, with authorities unable to monitor the reopening of bars and restaurants and calling back as needed. He told AFP that there were multiple factors behind it.

“I’m worried that contact tracing reports from various municipalities and states may be driving the spread of indoor social gatherings at people’s homes,” he added. Cold weather.

One of the bright signs is that COVID-19 treatment has improved significantly and the hospital is not overwhelmed as the cases are more widespread than before.

The spread of masks can also mean that when people are infected, there are fewer viruses in the body and less illness.

“There is no magic bullet”

Vaccines are an important tool against viruses, but experts warn that they cannot replace means of action such as masks and distance.

“It’s welcome news that there’s one more thing that can help prevent COVID infections,” said Priya Sampath Kumar, an infectious disease doctor and professor at the Mayo Clinic.

“But I think we need to carefully understand that vaccines are not a silver bullet,” she added.

Both Pfizer and Moderna, both funded by the US government, began Phase 3 of the clinical trial at the end of July, both producing doses at the same time.

They aim to administer tens of millions of doses in the United States by the end of the year.

Both are “mRNA vaccines” and are new platforms that have never been fully approved.

They both inject people with the genetic material needed to grow the SARS-CoV-2 “spike protein” in their cells, thus Immune response The body remembers when it encountered a real virus.

This effectively transforms the human body into a vaccine factory, avoiding the costly and difficult processes required for traditional vaccine production.

However, although this approach may have helped put Pfizer and Moderna in pole position. vaccine Race, the main drawback is that it requires a freezer for storage and distribution may be restricted.

© 2020 AFP