Category: Corona Virus Vaccine

This week, scientists at the Kaiser Permanente Research Institute in Seattle, Washington, administered the first injection of a trial vaccine for the coronavirus. As The Associated Press reported it, the mood was optimistic. Were on team coronavirus now, said Kaisers Dr. Lisa Jackson. The recipient of this first dose, 43-year-old Jennifer Haller, offered tones of civic pride: This is an amazing opportunity for me to do something. These are just the first steps in what would be, in the best-case scenario, a 12- to 18-month wait for a medical breakthrough. All over the world, similar efforts are ongoing, the hope being that this vital work can be carried out without interruption or interference.

Naturally, we have also recently received a reminder of the extent to which our dreadful politics might provide the impediments necessary to blunt the efforts of vaccine researchers. Word leaked out this week that Donald Trump had apparently tried to lure a team of German researchers to the United States so that they could carry through cutting-edge research on developing a coronavirus vaccine here. (The European Union is now responding to try to keep its researchers there.)

Its not clear exactly what Trump hoped to gain if his efforts succeeded. There was speculation that he had planned to make the vaccine available exclusively for people in the U.S., although as a practical matter, it is difficult to envision how this could have been accomplished. Perhaps Trump was just hoping for bragging rights, that the U.S. had developed the first effective coronavirus vaccine. (In a best-case scenario, it will be at least a year until one is widely available, an inconvenient truth for those who are currently endeavoring to engineer the presidents reelection.)

While it is not worth a lot of effort unraveling Trumps thinking, we should be doing some serious thinking ourselves about the development of a coronavirus vaccine and biomedical research more generally. The situation we see today is that many top-notch researchers, in Germany, China, the U.S., and elsewhere, are racing to develop a vaccine that can enter the testing process. The problem with this picture is that they are working in competition, not collaboration. This means that they are not widely sharing information with each other, since they dont want to give their competitors an edge.

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Inoculating the Coronavirus Vaccine Against the Profit Pandemic - The New Republic

We look forward to applying our broad molecule-to-market services, including our ability to work with a multitude of delivery systems, execute under expedited timelines, and meet Vaxarts potential need for future scalability and large-scale capacity for commercial quantities, said Syed T. Husain, Emergents senior vice president and unit head for contract development and manufacturing.

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Baltimore scientists to work on third experimental coronavirus vaccine - Baltimore Sun

Daily briefing: The five questions that scientists hunting a coronavirus vaccine must answer  Nature.com

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Daily briefing: The five questions that scientists hunting a coronavirus vaccine must answer - Nature.com

Inside a busy microbiology lab on Colorado State Universitys foothills campus, the quest for a coronavirus vaccine has already begun. Ever since a sample of the coronavirus arrived mid-February, researchers have worked eight-hour days in full white protective gear, sometimes wearing respirators.

For our lab thats what we live for, said postdoctoral virologist Izabela Ragan. I know a lot of labs are excited for the opportunity.

Ragan and other researchers at Colorado State University have focused attention on using a Mirasol machine, a white box the size of a printer to render the virus inactive. Thats the first step toward creating a vaccine. Over the next six to eight months, theyll turn to tests of the potential vaccine on small rodents.

Heres what it takes to be a virologist: Ragan and others wear head-to-toe white protective gear when theyre in the lab working with the virus. After leaving the lab, they have to shower head to toe if they need to leave it in a small utilitarian stall before walking into a public hallway. The lab itself has filtered air so the exhaust from the lab doesnt release viruses outside the room. Even animals tested in the lab live in heavily filtered cages.

Nothing goes out of this filter, said CSU Biosafety Director Bob Ellis pointing to the ceiling of a mock lab at the university used for training. So it protects the environment around you, too.

CSU wont allow reporters into the actual lab where the coronavirus is, but they did allow reporters into a duplicate training facility.

Vaccine research can take years to develop a successful dose. CSU Vice President for Research Alan Rudolph said the soonest a vaccine can be developed for coronavirus is 18 months. That includes about 6-8 months of animal testing followed by trials with humans, heavily regulated by the Federal Drug Administration.

Rudolph and his colleagues are trying to better develop vaccines in the future. Theyre asking questions like, What if researchers could one day develop a vaccine that covers multiple strains of influenza instead of just one? Or, what about manufacturing a vaccine not from a giant facility, but from a bunch of small 3D printers across the country?

Thats really what we need so were not waiting a year and a half for the next vaccine, Rudolph said.

Stopping the spread of a deadly virus is one research prong at CSU. Understanding why some viruses, like coronavirus, make the jump from animals to humans is another. The hunt is on right now to understand where the coronavirus emerged.

Read more: What does a quarantine look like?

Microbiology professor Richard Bowen has looked extensively at how animals spread viruses to humans. He studied how camels shed the Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome. He also set up an artificial barnyard in the lab to replicate how birds spread the avian flu. That translated into ducks and chickens and rats running around happy in a small lab to replicate conditions where the virus emerged.

And well do more of that--trying to see, do the animals in the cages below become infected more readily than the cages above and that kind of thing, Bowen said.

He knows the virus originated from Wuhan China, possibly from a so-called wet market where live animals are sold. Now that the virus is inside a CSU lab, Bowen is keen to study which animals are susceptible to the coronavirus. That could lead to understanding how the virus jumped between animals and eventually became contagious to humans.

Based on the genetic sequence of the coronavirus, Bowen said it appears to have possibly come from bats.

Whether it came from bats in that market, or whether there were two or three animal reservoirs in between, who knows?

Thats where coronavirus research questions lead to answers, which eventually create more questions on campus.

Ultimately, CSU Vice President for Research Alan Rudolph wants to supercharge research in some of the university's labs with the help of federal dollars. CSU is one of many institutions that submitted grant proposals seeking a piece of the $8 billion federal coronavirus bill. An answer is expected in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, researchers like Izabela Ragan will continue diligently working in the lab to find a vaccine.

Its evolving every day of how we can do better with the testing, diagnosing people, understanding how quickly the virus spreads. Every day were getting better technology, were getting more successful, we have to be better for the next one as well, she said.

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CSU Researchers Are Working Full-Bore On The Mysteries Of Coronavirus And A Vaccine - Colorado Public Radio

The hope is that we will have a coronavirus vaccine in 12-18 months, but for that to happen we may have to rely on untested techniques - and that comes with its own risks.

By Carrie Arnold

POTTERING around her kitchen on the morning of 31 December, Kate Broderick scrolled through the headlines while shewaited for her tea to brew. One story caught her eye: a mysterious outbreak of severe pneumonia in Wuhan, China. Nearly overnight, the number of cases seemed to explode. Iknew we didnt have time to wait, she says.

A molecular geneticist at Inovio Pharmaceuticals in California, Broderick was poised for what came next. When Chinese officials published the genetic sequence of thenew SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus causing the illness just two weeks after the first cases were reported to the World Health Organization, Broderick got to work. Within 3hours, her teamhad a prototype vaccine ready for initial testing. It was an unprecedented turnaround, but a moment Broderick and many others hadlong seen coming.

Making vaccines usually takes a decade or more between development, safety testing andmanufacturing, says Seth Berkley, head ofGavi, an international group that promotes vaccine use around the world. With global confirmed cases of the new disease, covid-19, surging past 180,000 at the time of writing, time is of the essence.

To speed things up, scientists are turning tountested classes of vaccines, and rethinking every part of how they are designed, evaluated and manufactured. If the approach works, we will, for the first time, have identified a new disease and developed a vaccine against it while the initial outbreak is still ongoing.But speed can come with downsides. Wecould have a vaccine in three weeks, butwecant guarantee its safety or efficacy, saysGaryKobinger, a virologist at LavalUniversity in Canada.

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How soon will we have a coronavirus vaccine? The race against covid-19 - New Scientist

They each spoke to CNN Tuesday about why they chose to take part in the trial.

Speaking with CNN's Brooke Baldwin, Browning said he's doing it to "make this end as quickly as possible for the rest of the world," adding, "If I'm healthy enough to be able to contribute research and hoping you find a vaccine sooner than later, why wouldn't I?"

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Coronavirus trial vaccine participant says he wants to help the world - CNN

Coronavirus has spread from Wuhan, China, to countries across the world. But how do you know you have it? Here are some signs to watch out for. USA TODAY

Drugmakers are hustling to make a vaccine to counter the rapidly spreading respiratory virus that has sickened at least 1,975 people in China andfivein the United States.

The National Institutes of Health has partnered with a Boston-area company, Moderna, on a vaccine targeting the novel coronavirus. A Pennsylvania biotechnology company, Inovio, also secured a $9 million grant from Norway-based Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations to develop a vaccine. The company already is developing a vaccine for Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, another type of coronavirus.

Officials with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases say they can quickly develop a vaccinebecause Chinese scientists rapidly sequenced the viruss genome.

The agency has the funding and technology, said Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Barring any bureaucratic or regulatory holdups, which I dont think will happen, we can almost certainly getinto phase one in three months.

'Everything now is experimental.'Here's how doctors are treating coronavirus

Even if the vaccine is tested rapidly, it might not come in time to slow the outbreak. Public health efforts to limit the spread of the virus and treat those who are infected will have a more immediate benefit.

The virus, which originated in the central city of Wuhan, has spread to surrounding regions in China andSouth Korea,Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macao,Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

The first U.S. case, a Washington state man in his 30s, was diagnosed Tuesday. A second case, a woman in her 60s,was reported Friday in Chicago. Threemore cases were confirmed Saturday and Sundayin California.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is coordinatingefforts to limit the virus's spread, limiting flights from the region to five U.S. airports and screening 2,000 returning travelers as of Friday.At least 63 potential cases are under investigation in 22 states, and 11 hadbeen confirmed negative, officials said.

TheU.S. State Department advised travelers to avoid the central Chinese province of Hubei, home to Wuhan.

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As public health officials work to limit the spread and get medical care to those in hard-hit regions, scientists, government and drugmakers are racing to develop new vaccines and other drugs.

Faucisaid scientists need to secure samples of the coronavirus from China so they can begin testing. He is optimistic Chinese authorities will soon allow release of the crucial samples, which also can be used to develop other drugs such as monoclonal antibodies.

Once the agency obtains samples, scientists can test the vaccinein animals, then in humans. An initialphase one study of about 20 patients would evaluate whether the vaccine is safe. Officials would then need to decide whether to pursue a larger study to test the vaccines effectiveness.

Getting the vaccine candidate in the laboratory is the shorter and easier part, said William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University School of Medicine professor of preventive medicine. It is testing it in people to make sure its safe and its likely to work that takes much more time and much more money.

Outbreak: Chinese leader warns of 'grave' coronavirus crisis as US diplomats prepare to leave Wuhan

Researchers have a head start from work on vaccines for other coronaviruses responsible for past outbreaks ofsevere acute respiratory syndrome, orSARS,and MERS.

Researchers know the similarities shared by the family of viruses, but"the parts that are different from virus to virus are those critical parts that are important for protection, Fauci said.

His agency will develop the vaccine using a technology called messenger RNA platform, which instruct cells to make proteins. The newer technology will allow the agency to develop one more quickly. During the SARS outbreak in 2002-2003, it took about 20 months to prepare a vaccine for clinical trial, Fauci said.

The SARS vaccine has not been needed because the virus has not returned, but it is available if it does.

Another possibility, Fauci said, is to developa universal vaccine to attack all types of coronaviruses, a sort of insurance policy when the next one is transmitted from an animal to a human.

For now, the agencyhas prioritized development of a universal flu vaccine, which gets less attention even thoughthe more common illness is far more lethal than the coronavirus.Today, flu vaccines are made each year and tailored to match strains scientists project will circulate before the seasonal flu season begins.

CDC estimates the flu this seasonhas sickenedat least 15 million and caused 8,200 deaths, an illness that dwarfs the harm from coronavirus.

"In comparison to flu, the impact on the new coronavirus in the United States will be trivial," Schaffner said. "Its new, its novel, its mysterious. It started in an exotic place. We are all energized. So it is no great surprise the general public is interested."

Consider this: Something far deadlier than the Wuhan coronavirus lurks near you, right here in America

Coronavirus outbreak: Bogus coronavirus conspiracy theory about patents, vaccine spreads on social media

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Coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China: Vaccine may be ready in ...

Canine coronavirus infection is highly contagious among dogs, with common symptoms such as fever, vomiting, and loss of appetite. In most cases, the virus runs its course ... and then the patient is fine. A vaccine against canine coronavirus is available, but its not part of the routinely recommended vaccines for most dogs.

Coronavirus infection is a highly contagious infection of puppies and older dogs that primarily attacks the intestinal tract. The disease is spread from dog to dog through contact with feces.

A vaccine is available to prevent canine coronavirus infection. This vaccine may be included in combination vaccines that also protect dogs from canine distemper virus (CDV), canine parvovirus (CPV-2), and canine adenovirus type 2 (CAV-2).

The American Animal Hospital Association has grouped vaccines for dogs into three general categories core, (all dogs should receive the vaccine), non-core (recommendation is based on risk for exposure to the disease), and not recommended. The canine coronavirus vaccine has been included in this third category. Categorization as not recommended does not mean the vaccine is bad or dangerous it simply means that widespread use is not generally recommended among pet dogs. However, your veterinarian is always the best guide for making vaccination decisions.

This vaccine is administered by subcutaneous injection.

Administering a vaccine is a medical procedure, and there are times when a vaccine may not be recommended. For example, your veterinarian may advise against vaccinating an animal that is currently sick, pregnant, or may not have adequate immune system functioning to respond to a vaccination. For pets with a previous history of vaccine reactions, the potential risk of a future vaccine reaction should be weighed against the potential benefits of vaccination. These and other issues are evaluated when deciding what is best for your pet.

Coronavirus is spread through contact with fecal material from infected dogs, so separating sick dogs from healthy ones can help reduce disease spread. Coronavirus can be killed by many types of household disinfectants (including diluted bleach solution), so cleaning contaminated areas and bedding is also recommended.

If a dog becomes infected with coronavirus, clinical signs of disease tend to be mild and self-limiting.

AAHA vaccine guidelines

This article was reviewed by a Veterinarian.

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Everything You Need to Know About Canine Coronavirus Vaccine

An Americanbiotech company says it created a coronavirus vaccine three hours after getting access to the virus' genetic sequence on Jan. 9, and now scientists are racing to get the vaccine on the market in record time.

Inovio Pharmaceuticals is based in Pennsylvania, but scientistsin its laboratory in San Diego made the discovery.

NEW CORONAVIRUS CASES SOAR, DEATHS RISE

"We have an algorithm which we designed, and we put the DNA sequence into our algorithm and came up with the vaccine in that short amount of time," Inovio's research and development director Dr. Trevor Smith told KVUE.

Chinahas reported 254 new daily deaths and a spike innew daily virus casesof 15,152, after new methodology was applied in the hardest-hit province of Hubei as to how cases are categorized.

CORONAVIRUS TREATMENT MAY COME FROM AN UNEXPECTED PLACE

Inovio's vaccine for COVID-19, as health officials have named the virus,could be ready as early as this summer. Inovio's stock jumped to $5.32 a share a few days after the companyannounced it was selected to work on a coronavirus vaccine. Shares are now at $3.34, back to where they were a month ago.

The American company is partnering with Beijing Advaccine, a Chinese company, to work on the vaccine.

CORONAVIRUS LIKELY TO HIT US GROWTH

"Inovio's participation in this developing effort is based on the ideal suitability of its DNA medicine platform to rapidly develop vaccines against emerging viruses with pandemic potential, proven vaccine development capabilities, and a strong track record of rapidly generating promising countermeasures against previous pandemic threats," the company said in a statement on Jan. 30. "Inovio was the first to advance its vaccine (INO-4700) against MERS-CoV, a related coronavirus, into evaluation in humans."

Another U.S. company,Maryland-based Novavax, is aiming to make acoronavirusvaccinein as little as three months, although such vaccines can take years to develop.The company made an Ebola vaccine in 90 days.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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California lab says it discovered coronavirus vaccine in 3 hours

Since 2003 the world has faced three outbreaks caused by coronaviruses Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and now the current outbreak caused by a virus known as 2019-nCoV.

Scientists have yet to find a way to stop these outbreaks before they start. But over the past 17 years, they have drastically shortened the time it takes to develop a vaccine after a new virus emerges.

This is largely due to technological advances and a greater commitment by governments and nonprofits to funding research on emerging infectious diseases.

Scientists are already racing to develop a vaccine for 2019-nCoV a feat that experts say is technically possible, but still may not come in time to help during this outbreak.

Science news reports that several groups started working on a vaccine for 2019-nCoV shortly after Chinese scientists shared the viruss genetic sequence in an online public database on Jan. 10.

Three of these groups are funded by Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), a nonprofit formed in 2017 to fund vaccine development for emerging infectious diseases.

Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Moderna Inc. both say they will have a vaccine ready for testing in animals in one month.

Moderna, which is working with the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, estimates that it could have a vaccine ready for a phase one clinical trial in people in three months.

Moderna and Inovio are both using a newer vaccine technology based on specific DNA or messenger RNA (mRNA) sequences of the virus. The chosen sequence codes for a viral protein, such as one on the surface of the virus.

This type of vaccine can still elicit a protective immune response in a person. But because the protein is only a small piece of the virus, it doesnt cause illness.

Scientists using this method can also start designing a vaccine as soon as they have the viruss genetic sequence. With other methods, they would need to work with actual virus samples in the lab.

The nice thing about this technology is that it bypasses many of the traditional steps to vaccine discovery and development. So its very fast, said Dr. Jon Andrus, adjunct professor of global vaccinology and vaccine policy at the Milken Institute School of Public Health of George Washington University.

The third group, at the University of Queensland in Australia, is aiming to have a vaccine ready for testing in people in 16 weeks. They are developing a vaccine by growing viral proteins in cell cultures.

Drugmaker Johnson and Johnson, which is not funded by CEPI, started working on a vaccine two weeks ago, according to CNBC. The companys chief scientific officer estimates they could have a vaccine ready for market within a year.

Dr. Stanley Perlman, a professor of microbiology and immunology and pediatrics at the University of Iowa, said these rapid timelines may be feasible for development of the vaccine. But they may be too fast for careful evaluation of the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines.

Still, the platforms [being used to develop] these vaccines have been tested before, so are likely to be as safe as when used previously, said Perlman. Given the urgency of preventing further spread of the virus, this [rapid pace] is understandable.

Once scientists have created potential candidates, the vaccines still have to go through animal testing and small and large clinical trials in people. These stages are needed to make sure the vaccines work and are safe.

Dr. Peter Hotez, professor and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and co-director of the Texas Childrens Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, said you can only speed up animal and clinical trials so much.

In the end, these steps take time, he said. So thats going to be the rate-limiting step in determining whether theres going to be a vaccine available in time for this epidemic.

Hotez said there are some things you can do to make this testing go a little faster, like running some of the clinical trials in parallel. But in the end, youre still talking weeks to months, he said.

During the 2002-2003 SARS outbreak, it took about 20 months for a vaccine to be ready for testing in people.

By then, the outbreak had been contained with public health measures like isolating infected people, setting up quarantines, and identifying people who have come in contact with those who are sick.

These steps are already being done in the current outbreak. Whether these can contain 2019-nCoV depends on many factors, some of which are still unknown like how quickly the virus spreads and how serious the illness it causes is.

Not being able to predict how an outbreak is going to go, its always important to address the potential for vaccine development, said Andrus. When vaccines work, theyre excellent. In many cases, theyre the best way to prevent disease.

Even if a vaccine makes it through all the rounds of testing, its unlikely that drugmakers can manufacture enough vaccine to protect everyone who might be exposed to the virus.

Moderna, which currently has the largest manufacturing capacity of the three CEPI-funded groups, thinks it could produce 100 million doses in a year, according to Science.

That means health officials would need to prioritize who gets the vaccine. This is based on factors like who would have the most severe symptoms and who is most likely to spread the virus.

With the current outbreak, the World Health Organization estimates that only around 20 percent of people infected developed a serious illness.

Andrus says many of those who have died from infection have been older adults or those with chronic medical conditions. These are the people you would want to target with a vaccine.

Healthcare workers on the front lines of an outbreak are another group that you want to keep an eye on.

If healthcare workers become infected, they can amplify the outbreak because theyre in contact with so many patients, particularly individuals who might have chronic disease, said Andrus.

This is especially true since people can spread the virus even before they have symptoms.

Given that weve already had three coronavirus outbreaks since 2003, its clear that these beta-coronaviruses are going to become pretty regular phenomenon, said Hotez.

As a result, some experts say its time to develop a universal coronavirus vaccine that would work against all viruses in this family even the ones we dont know about yet.

Perlman said different types of coronaviruses share some of the same features, so a universal vaccine could theoretically be developed. But we know from efforts to develop HIV or influenza vaccines, that this is not easy, he said.

A universal vaccine, though, is not the only option to protect us from future outbreaks.

We may need to build up an infrastructure for coronaviruses that more or less resembles what we have for flu right now, said Hotez.

With flu, scientists continually monitor which influenza virus strains are active around the world. They then predict which ones will be active during the upcoming flu season and use this to develop the annual flu vaccine.

Coronaviruses are a little different, but Hotez thinks scientists could develop multiple vaccine candidates for use when an outbreak happens.

You could potentially have a coronavirus vaccine stockpiled and ready to go, he said. Even if its not a perfect match just like the flu vaccine isnt for the flu it could still do a lot to reduce hospitalization and mortality.

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How Long Will It Take to Develop a Vaccine for Coronavirus?