An Overview Of The Recent Updates On The Covid-19 Vaccine:
- SARS-CoV-2 causes COVID-19, which is a respiratory illness.
- Experts around the globe are focusing on the development of a vaccine.
- There are currently 78 candidate vaccines available.
- There are currently 20 candidate vaccines in stage 3 clinical trials.
- To date, 11 vaccines have been approved in many countries.
Here Are Some Recent Updates On The Covid-19 Vaccine:
Aavcovid Vaccine Candidate Receives Financial Boost
Date: 01/28/2021
The AAVCOVID Vaccine Program has developed a gene-based vaccine. It is kept at room temperature and seems to be safe after one dose. A recent inflow of up to $2.1 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will help the organization move the vaccine to a phase 1 clinical trial.
Earlier this month, the AAVCOVID Vaccine Program released some preliminary results on a preprint server. So, the scientist found that their vaccine candidates “demonstrate potent immunogenicity in mouse and nonhuman primates after a single injection.”
We can keep the vaccine safely at room temperature for up to 1 month. So, it could prove advantageous for undeveloped countries. There is no infrastructure required to store vaccines at low temperatures. Stay tuned for more updates on the COVID-19 vaccine.
2. Problems With E.U. Vaccine Rollout
Date: 01/27/2020
The European Union has been criticized for the slow speed of vaccine delivery in its Member States. The U.S. in December authorized the purchase of 300 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech. However, due to miscommunication and supply chain issues, Pfizer was unable to meet expectations.
The European Medicines Agency may approve the AstraZeneca vaccine this month. However, the company has recently announced that they will not deliver as many doses of their vaccine to the U.S. that they had initially promised.
Pascal Soriot, CEO of AstraZeneca, has recently defended their rollout plans. He says they are working 24/7 to fix many problems of the production of the vaccine. But that production was basically 2 months far from where they wanted to be.
He states that the U.S.’s late decision to sign contracts offered limited time to resolve supply problems. AstraZeneca also has problems with “scaling up” vaccine production in some plants.
The CEO further said we plan to deliver millions of doses to Europe, not a small one. Stay tuned for more updates on COVID-19 vaccine.
3. India’s Vaccine Rollout Ramps Up
Date: 27/01/2020
India has recorded the second-highest number of COVID-19 cases after the U.S. On January 16. The country launched one of the largest vaccination campaigns in the world. In less than 2 weeks, India has already vaccinated more than 2 million healthcare professionals.
4. Is The Astrazeneca Vaccine Only 8% Effective In Over 65s?
Date: 01/26/2021
According to a few media outlets, German officials were worried that the European Union would not approve the AstraZeneca vaccine. They think it is only 8% effective in adults over 65 years of age. This seems to be an error, however.
However, these results may be based on the preliminary randomized trial data. Because researchers recruited older age groups later than younger age groups. There has been less time for cases to develop. As a result, efficacy data in these cohorts are currently limited by a small number of cases. But additional information will be available in future analyzes.
In agreement, Professor Adam Finn of the University of Bristol, U.K., says, “Older people have been recruited to the U.K. Phase 3 was relatively late and relatively well protected. So, there were few cases of COVID-19 that occurred at the time of submission of the data. Stay tuned for more updates on COVID-19 vaccine.
5. Moderna Vaccine Effective Against Emerging Variants
Date: 01/25/2021
According to the Moderna press release, their COVID-19 vaccine still is efficacious against the SARS-CoV-2 variants, B.1.1.7 and B.1.351. The scientists in the United Kingdom and South Africa first recognized them. The vaccine, however, had a significantly decreased antibody response to the latter.
Scientists used sera from individuals who received the Moderna vaccine and did not significantly impact the B.1.1.7 variant’s antibody response. However, there has been a six-fold reduction in the antibody response to the B.1.351 variant. The press release explains that the antibodies remain above the levels that we expect to protect.
The impact on B.1.1.7 is consistent with other evidence using sera antibodies from individuals vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. As with the six-fold reduction of the B.1.351 version, the information is more concerned.
6. Merck Scrap Sars-cov-2 Vaccine
Date: 25/01/2021
Merck & Co. announced that they are “canceling the development” of their SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in a press release. They describe that the vaccines were well tolerated. The immune responses were, however, inferior to those seen after natural infection.
However, the company will continue to focus on two therapies, known as MK-7110 and MK-4482 (molnupiravir). The President of Merck Research Laboratories, Dr Dean Y. Li, said:
“We are grateful to our colleagues who have collaborated with us on these candidates for the vaccine and to the volunteers for the testing. We remain committed to contributing to the global effort to relieve patients, healthcare services, and populations of the burden of this pandemic.”
7. Vaccine Rollout In Israel: Successes, Lessons, and Caveats
Date: 01/25/2021
Some analysts consider Israel to be the world leader in the race to carry out the COVID-19 vaccine. Medical News Today explores why the vaccine rollout has been so effective in Israel. And it discusses the problems and issues of equity relevant to the campaign.
8. The Study Showed That The Pfizer Vaccine Was Successful Against Variant B.1.1.7.
Date: 21/01/2021
Scientists identified new forms of SARS-CoV-2. Researchers are trying to understand the implications for the efficacy of vaccines. New research appeared on a preprint server. It concluded that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine efficiently neutralizes the B.1.1.7 variant. This variant was first seen in the U.K.
The researchers used two forms of pseudovirus to investigate. One pseudovirus mimics the type B.1.1.7 SARS-CoV-2. And the other was a SARS-CoV-2 based reference pseudovirus isolated from Wuhan, China.
Scientists compared the immune response of the two pseudoviruses. They used serum from people who got Pfizer-BioNTech for this comparison. They found that both viruses had been successfully neutralized.
The authors conclude that it is “unlikely” that the B.1.1.7 variant will bypass the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
9. Sri Lanka Would Like To Thank India for Sending The Coronavirus Vaccine
Sri Lanka expressed appreciation and gratitude to India on Tuesday for sending 500,000 doses of vaccine against coronavirus to the island nation. Mahinda Rajapaksa told the Cabinet that the Indian High Commissioner in Colombo had announced that 500,000 vaccines would be sent to Sri Lanka, arriving here on 28 January.
10. India Has Many Coronavirus Vaccines, But Few Takers
Most of the nation is struggling to get enough vaccines to inoculate their populations. India has the opposite problem: many shots, but a lack of people willing to take them.
One of the biggest vaccination programs in the world was launched by India. Some health care professionals and other frontline workers are hesitant because of safety issues. They are hesitant about a vaccine that has yet to complete phase III trials. As of Monday, only about 56% of people eligible to get shots have gone forward in a nation with the world’s second-worst Covid-19 epidemic.
