United States Accelerates Development of Covid-19 Vaccine



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President Trump announced that the United States would accelerate the development of the nCoV vaccine, targeting at least 100 million doses in 8 months.

Speaking to reporters at the White House meeting, Trump said he was in charge of the entire project to develop the vaccine as quickly as possible.

“What humans do, we will do,” he said, “I hope we will promote the vaccine at an unprecedented rate.”

The project, “Operation Warp Speed,” is based on the cooperation of private pharmaceutical companies, government agencies, and the military to reduce the time to develop the nCoV vaccine. The goal is to have 100 million doses by the end of this year. No vaccine has been developed at such a rate.

If this project fails, the financial risks are borne by the taxpayers rather than the pharmaceutical companies. Developing a vaccine is often time consuming and risky.

The Trump project’s goal is to cut back on slow steps, use government resources to quickly test the most potential vaccine in animals, and then extensively test it in humans. The Department of Defense will provide animal research resources for testing preclinical vaccines.

Last month, Trump ordered Alex Azar, Minister of Health and Human Services, to accelerate the development of vaccines. Government officials met for 4 weeks. Michael Caputo, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, said the president did not accept the standard schedule for vaccine development and encouraged progress in the process.

The most potential vaccines will undergo more extensive testing, while mass production will increase. Vaccine testing procedures are also discussed. Instead of many manufacturers conducting many clinical trials, competing with patients and resources, the government will organize a large experiment, test several vaccines at the same time, and focus on producing the most potential. .

The Trump administration is not alone in trying to rapidly develop the vaccine. Oxford University in London is also a good candidate in this career. Scientists at the National Institutes of Health injected six macaque macaques with Oxford and then exposed them to nCoV. All six monkeys were healthier after four weeks.

Researchers are currently testing their vaccine on 1,000 patients, with plans to expand clinical trials in May to an additional 5,000.

The Oxford team said they expected regulators to produce and approve several million doses of vaccines in early September 2020.

The vaccine is the most effective tool against viral diseases, it helps prevent people from getting sick, it is a shortcut to improve immunity. Scientists use live, weakened, or dead viruses or parts of germs to make a vaccine and then “trick” the body into developing the immune system without getting sick.

President Donal Trump at the White House on 4/30. Photo: Reuters.

President Donal Trump at the White House on 4/30. Photos: Reuters

Previously, regulators and epidemiologists have always claimed that clinical trials took 12-18 months or more to ensure that the nCoV vaccine was safe and effective.

The United States is the largest epidemic region in the world, registering more than 1,067,000 cases, of which 62,870 died. Within 24 hours, the number of infections increased by more than 29,700 and the number of deaths increased by 2,024.

As of this morning, the world has 210 countries and territories that recorded nCoV infections with more than 3.2 million people infected and almost 233,000 deaths.

Chile (The O Reuters, Bloomberg)

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