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Trials of a vaccine that could protect against the coronavirus will start in the UK.
Work on the vaccine, developed by clinical teams at the Jenner Institute at Oxford University and the Oxford Vaccine Group, began in January.
Now you must start a study with up to 510 healthy volunteers between 18 and 55 years old.
The United Kingdom will join only the United States, with two studies, and China at the start of human trials.
But WHO expert David Nabarro and Sarah Gilbert of Oxford University warned that there is no guarantee that we will ever receive a vaccine.
Work on the vaccine (pictured), carried out by clinical teams at the Jenner Institute at Oxford University and the Oxford Vaccine Group, began in January
WHO expert David Nabarro (left) and Sarah Gilbert of Oxford University (right) cautioned that there is no guarantee that we will ever receive a vaccine.
Professor Saul Faust, director of the NIHR Southampton Clinical Research Center at Southampton University Hospital, said: ‘Currently there are no licensed vaccines or specific treatments for Covid-19, but vaccines are the most effective way to control outbreaks and The international community has taken a step forward. step up efforts to develop one.
“This vaccine aims to convert the virus’s most powerful weapon, its spikes, against it, generating antibodies that bind to them, allowing the immune system to bind and destroy the virus.”
Called ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, it is made from a weakened version of a chimpanzee common cold virus (adenovirus) that has been genetically engineered, making it impossible for it to grow in humans.
Professor Saul Faust (pictured), director of the NIHR Southampton Clinical Research Center at Southampton University Hospital, said: “There are currently no licensed vaccines or specific treatments for Covid-19, but vaccines are the most effective way to control outbreaks. “
This has been combined with genes that produce proteins from the Covid-19 virus (SARS-CoV-2) called spike glycoprotein, which play an essential role in the route of infection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
About 187 of the study participants will be recruited in Southampton.
Professor Faust added: “ We are very pleased to support our colleagues at Oxford by collaborating on this extremely important study, which is one of only four ongoing vaccine trials worldwide and could pave the way for the delivery of a vaccinate later this year.
“This study will allow us to assess whether healthy people can protect themselves from Covid-19 with this new vaccine and will also give us valuable information about its safety and ability to generate good immune responses against the virus.”
According to the World Health Organization, more than 70 Covid-19 vaccines are being developed worldwide, but the UK now only joins the United States, two studies, and China at the start of human trials.
The study is being carried out in Oxford and Southampton, and three other sites are likely to be added.
Half of the volunteers in the study will receive the Covid-19 vaccine and the other half will receive a licensed “control” vaccine against meningitis and sepsis (the MenACWY conjugate vaccine) for comparison.
Production has already been expanded prior to testing to prepare as soon as possible for larger tests and a possible future deployment.
Professor Faust, who is a consultant in immunology and infectious diseases, said: “ By starting the expansion of vaccine manufacturing right away, the team can ensure that sufficient doses of vaccine are available as soon as possible for the upcoming trials that will include older people and children.
“Those who join the trial will play a critical role in the global search for a vaccine that protects us all, not least the NHS frontline workers, the elderly, and those with underlying health conditions.”
David Nabarro, professor of global health at Imperial College London and WHO envoy at Covid-19, said the world will have to adapt to the current problem.
It occurs when the number of cases worldwide increased more than 2.3 million, with 160,000 deaths.
A scientist checks the quality control of the vaccine vials to verify the correct volume at the Center for Clinical Biofabrication (CBF) in Oxford earlier this month
Dr. Nabarro told the Observer: ‘A vaccine that is safe and effective against all viruses is not necessarily developed. Some viruses are very, very difficult when it comes to vaccine development.
Therefore, for the foreseeable future, we will have to find ways to lead our lives with this virus as a constant threat.
‘That means isolating those who show signs of the disease and also their contacts. Older people should be protected. In addition, hospital capacity to treat cases must be guaranteed. That will be the new normal for all of us. ‘
Researchers around the world are desperately working on the development of an innovative vaccine.
But a senior professor at Oxford University who heads the charge of a cure warned that it is not “safe” that a vaccine could be produced.
Researchers around the world are desperately working on the development of an innovative vaccine (pictured in Oxford earlier last week)
Professor Sarah Gilbert, professor of Vaccinology, told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: ‘So we have to do tests to find out. Prospects are very good, but clearly not completely safe.
Professor Gilbert said they hope to start clinical trials by the end of next week.
And he said that along with these trials, preparations must be made to manufacture the vaccine in large quantities.
Professor Gilbert told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show that trials must be conducted to see if a viable vaccine can be found.
“The outlook is very good, but it is clearly not completely safe,” he said.
Professor Gilbert said her team is waiting for the final safety tests and final approvals for clinical trials to begin.
Meanwhile, permission has been given to recruit volunteers, get blood tests, explain the process and check their health, he said.
An incubator filled with hyper flasks used in the development of the candidate vaccine ChAdOx1 is shown at the Biological Manufacturing Clinic (CBF) in Oxford last week.
Professor Gilbert said: “By the time we get all the vaccine approvals ready, we should have a good group of volunteers to take advantage of and we should be able to get going pretty quickly.”
It is difficult to know when a vaccine could be ready, Professor Gilbert said, as there are many complex stages in vaccine development.
These begin with immunizing healthy people 18 to 55 years of age, before moving on to older age groups, observing safety and the immune response to the vaccine.
“That is important because it is the older population that we really need to protect with the vaccine,” he said.
“But with vaccines in general, you don’t get such good immune responses as the immune system ages, so we need to find out with this vaccine how well it looks in older people compared to younger people, simply by measuring the immune response to the vaccine. ‘
Hyperflashes used in the development of the candidate vaccine ChAdOx1 were shown at the Biological Manufacturing Clinic (CBF) in Oxford last week.
Half of all test volunteers will receive the new coronavirus vaccine and the other half will obtain a licensed vaccine to protect against meningitis. The volunteers will not know what is given to them, he said.
‘Over time, as people become infected or have symptoms of coronavirus, they will come to us for testing, and we will arrange to be tested very quickly and when enough people have become positive for it. Coronaviruses, statisticians will look at which groups these people were in, to find out “were they in the group that received the coronavirus vaccine or are they all in the group that received the meningitis vaccine?”
‘Obviously, we expect infections to only occur in the meningitis vaccine group. And if that is the case, we can say that this vaccine works, at least in the age range that we have vaccinated. ‘
Scientists must be able to demonstrate that the vaccine works, and that is affected by the amount of virus transmission at the time the tests are done.
Professor Gilbert said: ‘Obviously we are seeing a decrease in hospital admission now, probably a decrease in transmission of the virus in the community, and that is great for the general population.
“However, it makes vaccine testing more difficult, because we need a small number of people to become infected, and it really is a very small number, to know that the vaccine is really working.”
In addition, there must be preparation to manufacture large quantities of doses.
“What we need from the government is support to help us accelerate manufacturing,” he said, adding that there are no manufacturing facilities in the country that can do so at this time.
There is a plant at Oxford University that can produce small amounts of doses, which will be used for the first clinical trials, Professor Gilbert said, but this “needs to go on a much larger scale.”
Companies involved in making the vaccine will need trained personnel and new equipment, he said.
“And all of that can happen, but the companies we are going to work with will have to stop doing what they normally would and instead make this vaccine,” he added.
This map shows coronavirus cases and deaths worldwide. The United States has the largest outbreak with more than 700,000 infections.
Professor Gilbert also said that Oxford is not looking to make money from the vaccine, adding that they are concentrating on making it available for public health use.
“The university is looking to protect people’s health,” he said. ‘And do it as widely as possible throughout the world. It is not just for this country, we need to make a vaccine for the world. ‘
There is discussion about fair access to all vaccines that work globally, he added.
Professor Gilbert said her team has gone through stages of vaccine development that generally take five years in just four months.
Sir Jeremy Farrar, a member of the Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said he was “optimistic” about finding a vaccine, but finding a safe and effective treatment for the latest strain “was not a fact.”
He told Sophy Ridge of Sky News on Sunday: “ I hope we have a vaccine later this year, but that’s a vaccine in a vial, it’s a vaccine that we think is safe, a vaccine that we think could be effective. .
“I think it is crucial to realize that you have a vaccine in itself, in a million doses, that you know is safe and believe that it is effective.” That is not the end game.
‘The end game makes sure it’s really effective. It is effective in the elderly, effective in young children, effective in the entire age group in all populations.
“And then you have to make it in billions of doses to deliver it to the world.”
Scientists are also investigating the use of llamas in the search, according to the Sunday Times, with a new Belgian study showing that antibodies obtained from the blood of the llama may help neutralize the coronavirus responsible for Covid-19.
Since laboratory rats and mice have also been used in coronavirus research, South Korean scientists say ferrets could also play a role in testing vaccines because when they were infected with Covid-19 they responded similarly to humans. The Times said.
Meanwhile, former health secretary Jeremy Hunt says the pandemic has demonstrated the need for countries to work together on a new global health system that involves better cooperation between governments.
Hunt said global health security would be “on that small but critical list” of problems, such as climate change, that can only be solved through international work.
No person-to-person transmission, no travel bans, but lots of praise for China: WHO’s reaction to the coronavirus
December 31 – China first reports to WHO a group of unusual pneumonia cases in Wuhan
January 4 – WHO tweeted about ‘a cluster of pneumonia cases’ in Wuhan with no deaths, saying investigations into the cause are underway
January 5 – The WHO issues its first guide on ‘pneumonia of unknown cause’, saying that there are a total of 44 patients and 11 in serious condition. The main symptom is listed as fever, with “some patients have difficulty breathing”. The WHO says that “there is no evidence of person-to-person transmission” and that “health worker infections have not been reported”
January 7th – China says it has identified the cause of pneumonia as a ‘new coronavirus’, initially named 2019-nCoV by the WHO
January 9th – WHO commends China for identifying the new virus “in a short space of time” and repeats its assessment that the virus “is not easily transmitted between people.” Also discourages travel or trade restrictions in China
January 13th – WHO says it is now working with authorities in Thailand after reports of a case there, and may convene a meeting of the Emergency Committee.
January 14 – WHO tweets say “there is no clear evidence of person-to-person transmission in China,” though he later clarifies and says that there may have been limited transmission through family members.
January 20-21 – WHO field team in China makes a brief field visit to the Wuhan epicenter
January 21st – The first case is confirmed on American soil in Washington, in a person who had traveled from China a week earlier.
Jan 22 – A report by the WHO team sent to Wuhan notes that “human-to-human” transmission is taking place, but says more research is needed to assess “full scope.” The report points to confirmed infections in 16 doctors, a clear sign of patient transmission.
The team recommends avoiding large gatherings, isolating infected people, and focusing on hand washing as the best way to combat the spread of the virus.
On the same day, that WHO Emergency Committee meets for the first time. Later, Dr. Tedros says he has spoken to the Chinese Minister of Health and praises the government for its “invaluable” efforts to stop the virus. He calls a second meeting for the following day.
January 23 – With the division of the Emergency Committee, Dr. Tedros says that he has decided not to declare the virus as a public health emergency of international interest. Referring to the Wuhan blockade, which was announced the same day, he says he hopes it “will be effective and short-lived.” Praises China’s ‘cooperation and transparency’ to fight virus
Dr. Tedros says there is limited evidence of person-to-person transmission, mainly between families or doctors who treat the virus. Right now, there are 584 confirmed cases and 17 deaths worldwide, including Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, and the US. USA
It recommends screening at airports and tells countries to set up test facilities, but does not recommend a travel ban.
January 28 – Dr. Tedros and other senior WHO officials meet with Xi Jinping in China and agree to send a panel of experts to control the outbreak. He praises “the seriousness with which China is taking this outbreak, especially the commitment of senior leadership and the transparency they have shown.”
January 29 – Dr. Tedros gives a speech praising China’s efforts to contain the virus, saying that the country “deserves our gratitude and respect” for closing areas of the country to prevent the spread.
He points to some cases of person-to-person spread outside of China, which he says are “of grave concern” and will be closely monitored.
Jan 30 – The WHO Emergency Committee meets early and declares a public health emergency of international concern. It comes after confirmed cases of person-to-person transmission in Germany, Japan, Vietnam, and the US. USA
Dr. Tedros again praises China for “setting a new standard for outbreak response” with its blockades, saying that the small number of cases outside the country, 98, is “thanks to their efforts.”
Despite noting that most cases outside of China have a history of travel to or from Wuhan, he again recommends that no steps be taken to curb travel or international trade.
Jan 31 – Donald Trump announces travel restrictions for people coming from China
February 3rd – Dr. Tedros gives a speech to the WHO update on the coronavirus, saying that there are 17,238 cases in China and 361 deaths, although it is now an underestimate
Praises Xi Jinping for his individual leadership and insists that cases outside of China ‘can be handled’ if world authorities work together and follow recommendations including: travel or trade ban, supporting countries with weak health systems, investing in vaccines and diagnostics, fighting disinformation and urgent reviews of emergency preparedness
February 7th – Dr. Li Wenliang, a doctor who first reported the existence of coronaviruses and was initially silenced by China, dies from the virus.
Feb. 10 – WHO team of experts comes to China to help with the outbreak
February 11th – The WHO names the disease caused by the COVID-19 virus, saying that it avoided including a geographical name because it runs the risk of ‘stigmatizing’ people. Says it won’t use the name SARS-CoV-2 because it risks causing ‘unnecessary fear’ by linking it to the 2003 SARS outbreak
February 12 – Dr. Tedros says the number of new cases reported in China has ‘stabilized’ but adds that it must be ‘interpreted with extreme caution’ and that the outbreak ‘could still go either way’
February 16-24 – The WHO team of experts meets in China, visits affected sites and shares information on the best ways to deal with the crisis.
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends a daily press conference on COVID-19, the new coronavirus, at WHO headquarters in Geneva.
February 17th – Dr. Tedros begins chairing daily updates on the coronavirus response, and each briefing begins with an update on the number of infections, including from China, that recur without warnings.
He gave an analysis of Chinese data on about 44,000 confirmed cases. He says the data shows that 80 percent of cases are mild, 14 percent lead to serious illness, and 2 percent fatal. The disease is more severe in older people, with young people largely safe.
Calls on world leaders not to ‘waste’ a window of opportunity to get ahead of the virus and prevent it from spreading
26 of February – Donald Trump announces a dedicated coronavirus response team, which Mike Pence will lead
February 28th – The WHO expert team delivers its first report on the coronavirus. Among its main findings are that the disease probably originated from bats, that it is spread through close contact with infected people and not through the air, and that the most common symptoms include fever, dry cough and fatigue.
The report praises China’s response as “perhaps the most ambitious, agile and aggressive disease containment effort in history,” saying blockades were achieved “due to the deep commitment of the Chinese people to collective action” and that it had achieved a rapid decline in cases
Sea 9 – All of Italy goes into blockade as the virus spreads, the first European nation to go into total blockade
Jan 11 – The WHO declares that the coronavirus is a pandemic, which means that it is spreading out of control in multiple parts of the world. At this point, cases have been reported in more than 100 countries.
Mar 13 – The WHO says Europe is now the new epicenter of the virus after cases rise sharply, and Dr. Tedros notes that “more cases are reported every day than was reported in China at the height of its epidemic.”
Apr 19 – China reports no new domestic coronavirus infections since pandemic started
Apr 20 – Dr. Tedros issues a warning that “young people are not invincible” to the virus after external data showed that large numbers of people under the age of 50 ended up in intensive care.
Mar 25 – When Donald Trump begins to promote hydroxychloroquine as a possible coronavirus treatment, the WHO warns that no drugs to treat the virus have been approved so far
The same day, the organization asks for an extra $ 2 billion in funds to help fight the virus.
Apr 3 – While millions of US citizens USA Unemployment subsidy signed, Dr. Tedros and IMF call for debt relief and social welfare to help people overcome pandemic
Apr 6 – The WHO updates its guide on masks to say that they are effective in stopping the spread of the virus, but they should be used in conjunction with other methods.
It comes after the CDC updated its guide to advise people to wear masks in public.
Apr 8 – After Trump’s first barrage of criticism of WHO, Dr. Tedros urges world leaders to ‘stop politicizing the pandemic’ unless they want ‘more body bags’
Apr 13 – A group of scientists convened by WHO to research a coronavirus vaccine issued a joint statement urging world leaders to continue to listen to the scientific community when responding to the virus.
