very promising article on covid vaccine

[ClevelandKid]

There is a very promising article in today's NYT on a vaccine for covid-19

 

Here is the gist:

 

Most other teams have had to start with small clinical trials of a few hundred participants to demonstrate safety. But scientists at the university’s Jenner Institute had a head start on a vaccine, having proved in previous trials that similar inoculations — including one last year against an earlier coronavirus — were harmless to humans.

That has enabled them to leap ahead and schedule tests of their new coronavirus vaccine involving more than 6,000 people by the end of next month, hoping to show not only that it is safe, but also that it works.

 

The full article is at:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/27/world/europe/coronavirus-vaccine-update-oxford.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage

[Pushka]

Agree. And as it has been repurposed it has skipped a lot of trial testing. We can but hope. 

[azdrydock]

There was a TV story earlier today (don't remember the source) about nationalism and vaccines and the Oxford effort was quoted. The story essentially said that there is an outside chance it can be available in the EU in limited quantities by the end of the year but because of the US attitude that if it wasn't developed here by a major Pharm it can't be any good it is unlikely it will quickly gain US approval. The story went on  to trace the approvals of HIV and SARS vaccines and the offhanded rejection of the South Korean test kits. The US Pharms are making expensive and high risk investments  in development and manufacturing facilities. Oxford is teamed with a second tier US manufacturing company in  Mass. so do you think the big boys will risk a vaccine on the US market before they can grab a piece of the pie? 

The story went on to show how US developed vaccines were treated the same way in other countries around the world.

[ClevelandKid]

22 hours ago, azdrydock said:

There was a TV story earlier today (don't remember the source) about nationalism and vaccines and the Oxford effort was quoted. The story essentially said that there is an outside chance it can be available in the EU in limited quantities by the end of the year but because of the US attitude that if it wasn't developed here by a major Pharm it can't be any good it is unlikely it will quickly gain US approval. The story went on  to trace the approvals of HIV and SARS vaccines and the offhanded rejection of the South Korean test kits. The US Pharms are making expensive and high risk investments  in development and manufacturing facilities. Oxford is teamed with a second tier US manufacturing company in  Mass. so do you think the big boys will risk a vaccine on the US market before they can grab a piece of the pie? 

The story went on to show how US developed vaccines were treated the same way in other countries around the world.

Not sure what to say to that.  I would think the pressure for a phase 4 clinical trial here in the states would be tremendous.  My guess is the second tier manufacturing company would get a buy out offer that they would find hard to refuse.  What would be far more interesting is to see how it gets priced.  If it is $1,000 a hit here, and it is $100 in Canada, I'm off to Canada.