COVID-19 Human Vaccine Trials to Begin at UK Gov’s Top Secret Science Facility

[dufus]

 

The news - which will likely be seen by many as a ray of hope - comes amidst a nationwide panic as Boris Johnson announces the indefinite closure of all pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes across the UK.

 

Human and animal trials for a vaccine against the coronavirus are due to start taking place from next week in the UK at a maximum security science facility at Porton Down, according to reports.

 

The tests come as the British government finds itself locked in a race against time to mitigate the disease's outbreak. According to the same report, the government is likely to speedily launch the human trials - referred to as 'phase two' - before the results of the animal trials are even fully known, highlighting the sense of urgency that is driving the government’s response to COVD-19, which has so far claimed the lives of 177 Brits and infected upward of 3,983.

 

Yet, despite ramped up efforts, specialists are warning that a vaccine for the disease is not going to arrive any time soon.

 

Professor Robin Shattock from the Department of Infectious Disease at Imperial College London told the BBC’s World at One that, “the first part of that testing is to check that it’s safe in humans in small numbers, and again induces the right sort of immune response.”

 

“That will take, even if we do things very quickly, two to three months. The next stage would be to ramp it up and start looking at whether the vaccine actually can prevent infection in the wider community. You need to produce the data to show that a vaccine works and how well it works before you can then get a license to then sell that as a product. So globally, vaccines are not going to be made widely available, at the earliest, until next year and it may be later if it’s a global solution requiring manufacturing,” Professor Shattock cautioned.

 

Under normal circumstances, broader third phase trials are needed before a drag can be clinically approved and distributed to the masses, in crisis situations however, trial vaccines are disturbed beforehand to key frontline workers, such as doctors and nurses.

 

Professor Adrian Hill, a leading researcher from Oxford University who is involved with developing the vaccine has been quoted as telling the Guardian that, “this is not a normal situation. We will follow all standard trial safety requirements, but as soon as we have a vaccine that’s working, we anticipate there will be an accelerated pathway to get it deployed to save lives. The more vaccine we can provide sooner, the better.”

 

However, the UK is far from the only country racing to find a successful vaccine. In what some have described as a “global arms race for a coronavirus vaccine” the US, Europe & China are also engaged in the same race against time.

 

China is reported to have mobilised thousands of scientists to work on producing the remedy, while President Trump is said to have told executives of big pharmaceutical companies that he wants to make sure a vaccine is produced on American soil before anywhere else in the world. Indeed, the first human vaccine trials took places in the US earlier on this week, with four patients reportedly receiving injections at a research facility in Seattle, Washington. Yet, researchers insist that it will still be many months before they can say with confidence whether this vaccine works.

 

sauce

 

novelchock

[dMog]

We should all hope this vaccine comes out sooner than the average for new vaccines...12 to 18 months would be fast tracking it. Mostly though, i hope every government in the world passes laws that vaccines made for pandemics should be made for cost and not huge and indecent profit margins for big pharma. Not gonna happen  way though is it.

[tiliarou]

52 minutes ago, dMog said:

We should all hope this vaccine comes out sooner than the average for new vaccines...12 to 18 months would be fast tracking it. Mostly though, i hope every government in the world passes laws that vaccines made for pandemics should be made for cost and not huge and indecent profit margins for big pharma. Not gonna happen  way though is it.

I'm really scared for North America and US here insurance companies and drug manufacturer can rule how they want... No proper social and medical public security, everything is left for private sector to profit...

[Earthnet]

We don’t have 12-18 months!

Make believe that this is WWIII - Seriously!

 

😫

[tiliarou]

This is still far from World War... let's compare what can be reasonably compared.

 

To release a vaccine without proper testing is even more dangerous than current situation. Without enough time and test results over a certain duration, you can omit detrimental side effects. It shouldn't be rushed.

 

Experiments are ongoing with existing treatment so let's see within a few days how the results are (chloroquine and alike). The only thing to rush is social distancing and keeping people home.

[Karlston]

3 minutes ago, tiliarou said:

It shouldn't be rushed.

 

Indeed. Vaccines need proper testing to ensure safety, effectiveness, and proper dosage.

 

That said, some of the testing and trials could be run concurrently to speed up the process.

 

7 minutes ago, tiliarou said:

Experiments are ongoing with existing treatment so let's see within a few days how the results are (chloroquine and alike).

 

It's comforting that some existing drugs are proving useful. Hopefully they're being mass-produced right now, while we wait for an effective vaccine.

[dMog]

current drugs are helping. ONLY HELPING not a cure like seem to want to believe. You cannot rush a vaccine to be used on MORE than a few  BILLION people. It has to be absolutely save on that scale, think just  a few seconds on that statement as to the why of it. Vaccines have already been produced in several countries. In fact one here where i live in a small city in Canada at our University, and even here it is now being tested. This virus is in the world to stay ans with all that has and is and will it will still not go away but it will be rendered to a point we will not have to worry about too much in the future. The deaths are happening on large scale because and only because the hospitals are getting overwhelmed with people who need ventilators and extra care that cannot be provided. People who are upset about this need to look at why they keep electing governments that are inefficient in a crisis  and also are not self policing social distancing and why when EXPERTS told them to do certain things they chose to listen stupid politicians who told them utter lies for political reasons...oh and most importantly ask themselves why of all things they hoarded toilet paper and more importantly, food so that their friends family would have none of either. The food shortage is due to hoarding, not a lack of actual supply

[dMog]

Additionally, to young people not worried about getting it because they think they recover 100 percent.... MANY young people infected in other countries  are now seen to have a 20% to 30% percent of less  lung function...not something  you want to live with for the next 50 years of  your life is it

[dufus]

Foot & Mouth Outbreak, GM Vaccine 

 

BBC NEWS | UK | England | Foot-and-mouth phial 'went missing'

 

how careless  ?

[Earthnet]

Well...

 

I respect all of your opinions.

 

However, when you look at the big picture, people are rapidly dying.

It is a World War against a Virus - 2 strains of it, in fact.

 

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2236544-coronavirus-are-there-two-strains-and-is-one-more-deadly/

 

The good of the many outweigh the good of the few or the one.

 

😷