'They've jumped the gun': scientists worry about Russia's Covid-19 vaccine
Rising chorus of concern over Sputnik V vaccine stems from opaque development and lack of mass testing

Peter Beaumont
Wed 12 Aug 2020 17.17 BST
First published on Wed 12 Aug 2020 13.04 BST

In 1977, Scott Halstead, a virologist at the University of Hawaii, was studying dengue fever when he noticed a now well-known but then unexpected feature of the disease.

Animals that had already been exposed to one of the four closely related viruses that cause dengue and produced antibodies to it, far from being protected against other versions, became sicker when infected a second time, and it was the antibodies produced by the first infection that were responsible, allowing the second infection to hitchhike into the body.

The effect was called antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE). The reason it matters today, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, is that unexpected glitches such as ADE are the kind of problems vaccine developers look for in phase-3 testing of vaccines – testing that has yet to be carried out on Russia’s newly approved Sputnik V vaccine.

In recent weeks, as announcements on the development of scores of vaccines around the world have come in rapid succession, the still poorly understood mechanisms of ADE have been thrust into the spotlight as scientists speculate on whether vaccine-produced antibodies could trigger this effect.

ADE “is a genuine concern”, Kevin Gilligan, a virologist and senior consultant with Biologics Consulting, told Nature Biotechnology in June. “Because if the gun is jumped and a vaccine is widely distributed that is disease-enhancing, that would be worse than actually not doing any vaccination at all.”

This week, following Russia’s announcement that it is pushing ahead with mass production of Sputnik V and mass inoculation , the fears expressed by the likes of Gilligan became a chorus, underlining the concerns among scientists that Russian researchers have jumped the gun.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/ ... scientists

Many can't go there; and many would rather die.” “If they would rather die,” said Scrooge, “they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.

This Russian vaccine is a scary scenario and totally unethical.
I just had the above image of Scrooge saying, " and decrease the surplus population"

August 19, 2020 / 1:23 AM / Updated an hour ago
Australia locks in coronavirus vaccine deal as new cases ease

Australia has signed a deal with British drugmaker AstraZeneca to produce and distribute enough doses of a potential coronavirus vaccine for its population of 25 million, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said late on Tuesday.

All Australians will be offered doses but a medical panel will determine the priority list of vaccine recipients, Health Minister Greg Hunt said.

“Naturally you would be focusing on the most vulnerable, the elderly, health workers, people with disabilities in terms of the speed of roll out, but I think there would be widespread uptake in Australia,” Hunt told Sky News on Wednesday.

AstraZeneca last month said good data was coming in so far on its vaccine for COVID-19, already in large-scale human trials and widely seen as the front-runner in the race for a shot against the novel coronavirus.

The vaccine, called AZD1222, was developed by Britain’s University of Oxford and licensed to AstraZeneca.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-heal ... SKCN25E2ZA

Three fresh, small but strong studies in the US and Sweden show immunity is greater and lasts longer than previously believed.

Headline: Optimism on Covid-19 immunity climbs as studies show antibodies protect and T-cells last longer
Fishing boat study provides first real-life example of antibodies in action

Scientists are growing increasingly confident about the human immune response to SARS-CoV-2 after studies showed antibodies provide “real-world” protection against the virus and cellular immunity may be long-lasting, even in mild cases.

A study of a Covid-19 outbreak on a Seattle fishing boat involving more than 100 sailors has all but proven that antibodies provide protection against re-infection. Meanwhile, an encouraging body of evidence has found that T and B cells remain in the blood even once antibodies fade.

“This is exactly what you would hope for,” Marion Pepper, an immunologist at the University of Washington and an author on one of the new studies, told The New York Times. “All the pieces are there to have a totally protective immune response.”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-heal ... s-protect/

And here's my favourite English lecturer on COVID19 science, Dr. John Campbell on the three studies. He lays out the findings and finds himself cautiously excited. He's not prone to exaggerate any science.

We have no idea where Covid-19 vaccine will come from, says expert
Comments follow news of delay to Oxford trial after one of UK volunteers fell ill

Nobody can know where the first safe and effective vaccine against Covid-19 will come from, warned one of the UK’s leading medical experts, as the trials of the frontrunner, from Oxford University, were put on hold.

The Oxford vaccine appeared to be storming ahead, amid hopes it would have the data to get it approved by a regulator before the end of the year. Last month, Donald Trump was said to be considering pushing for it to be fast-tracked in the US before the presidential election in November.

You have to get to the very end to discover any real information, but here it is:

An anonymous source familiar with the situation told the New York Times that the person with a suspected adverse reaction had been enrolled in a phase 2/3 trial based in the UK.

The volunteer had received a diagnosis of transverse myelitis, an inflammatory syndrome that affects the spinal cord and is often sparked by viral infections, according to the individual. Independent investigators have been called in to find out whether or not the condition is vaccine-related.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/ ... ys-hancock

Global report: Covid cases near 30m as China expects vaccine as soon as November

Coronavirus deaths pass 925,000; biosafety head at Chinese CDC says vaccine progress ‘very smooth’; South Korea to secure early vaccines for 30 million

Coronavirus – latest updates
See all our coronavirus coverage

Lily Kuo and agencies

Tue 15 Sep 2020 06.10 BST
Last modified on Tue 15 Sep 2020 11.52 BST

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A staff member shows a coronavirus vaccine candidate at Sinovac Biotech Ltd stand at the 2020 China International Fair for Trade in Services in Beijing, China on 13 September 2020.
Thousands of Chinese residents have been given experimental coronavirus vaccines made by Chinese companies, including China National Biotec Group and Sinovac Biotech. Photograph: Wiktor Dąbkowski/ZUMA Wire/REX/Shutterstock

As global coronavirus cases neared 30 million on Tuesday, a senior health official in China said she expected a vaccine to be publicly available as early as November this year.

According to the Johns Hopkins University Covid-19 tracker, which relies on official government data, there are 29,190,588 confirmed infections worldwide. Deaths stand at 927,245 and are expected to pass 1 million by October.

Both the death toll and global infections total are believed to be higher, due to differing testing rates and definitions, delays in reporting and suspected underreporting by some countries.

Meanwhile Wu Guizhen, head of biosafety at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said she expected Chinese vaccines for Covid-19 would soon be available to the public as soon as November or December.

Speaking to state broadcaster CCTV, Wu said: “It will be very soon. The progress is currently very smooth.”

China, the world’s largest producer of vaccines, accounts for nine of the 30 vaccines currently undergoing human trials. Last week, the University of Hong Kong, working with mainland Chinese researchers, said a nasal spray vaccine was entering clinical trials.

Thousands of Chinese residents have been given experimental vaccines made by Chinese companies, including China National Biotec Group, a subsidiary of the state-owned Sinopharm, and Sinovac Biotech. In June, authorities approved using an experimental vaccine on those in the military and in July, medical workers and others in “high risk jobs” have been given vaccines.

As the global vaccine race heats up, China has promised to give its partners access to its treatment, prompting worries over vaccines being used as a diplomatic or political tool.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/ ... s-november

i'm not anti-vax
more like anti-anti-vax
but even so, i think i will be avoiding these early rushed vaccines

China says their vaccine could be ready by November: https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4009447
And published, peer-reviewed research is saying the PLA created Covid-19: https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4009390

it's not peer-reviewed
bannon is a very naughty boy

PM requests Russia’s Covid vaccine

Two things spring to mind:

Would anyone willingly allow themselves to be injected with Putin's Potion?

Where is the Chinese vaccine, the one being rolled out to their military? Surely out friends in Beijing will be supplying the KOW with it vaccines?

Maybe it's just a good old fashioned scrounge-up and Cambodia will take anything that's going for free (into H.E.'s 24ct gold begging bowl.)

Prime Minister HE has requested that Russia provide Cambodia with its Covid-19 vaccine after the former announced it planned on mass vaccinating its population next month.

The request came on Thursday through the prime minister’s Facebook page as he met with Anatoly Borovik, the newly-appointed Russian ambassador to Cambodia.

In the Facebook post, HE congratulated Russia on developing its vaccine. He said it would help the world in its fight against the disease, which has disrupted the economies, societies and relations between many of the world’s countries.

The post read: “In the meantime, Samdech Techo [HE] requested Russia to provide a Covid-19 vaccine to Cambodia to help with the containment of the virus in the country.”

https://phnompenhpost.com/national/pm-r ... id-vaccine