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SvennoJ on 29 April 2020
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Cyran said:
On some more hopeful news there a vaccine our of Oxford that showing some real potential.
https://www.businessinsider.com/monkeys-given-new-oxford-vaccine-coronavirus-free-strong-exposure-encouraging-2020-4

Obviously no guaranteed it will be effective on humans but the species of Monkeys used is the closest things they could of tested on too humans. It was enough to let them start human trials. In theory if it goes well could be approved as early as September. Hopefully it works out and at least we can start getting essential personnel vaccination this fall as we start scaling up for wider vaccination.

This human trial started on March 16th

https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-clinical-trial-investigational-vaccine-covid-19-begins

The open-label trial will enroll 45 healthy adult volunteers ages 18 to 55 years over approximately 6 weeks. The first participant received the investigational vaccine today.

The study is evaluating different doses of the experimental vaccine for safety and its ability to induce an immune response in participants. This is the first of multiple steps in the clinical trial process for evaluating the potential benefit of the vaccine.

The vaccine is called mRNA-1273 and was developed by NIAID scientists and their collaborators at the biotechnology company Moderna, Inc., based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) supported the manufacturing of the vaccine candidate for the Phase 1 clinical trial.

The investigational vaccine was developed using a genetic platform called mRNA (messenger RNA). The investigational vaccine directs the body’s cells to express a virus protein that it is hoped will elicit a robust immune response. The mRNA-1273 vaccine has shown promise in animal models, and this is the first trial to examine it in humans.



The UK trial is starting now

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/23/health/coronavirus-vaccine-trial-uk-gbr-intl/index.html

Scientists in the UK will begin trials of a potential Covid-19 vaccine on humans Thursday, as the government warns it could have to rely on social distancing measures until next year assuming no vaccine or treatment is found before then.

England's Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said Wednesday that the probability of having a vaccine or treatment "anytime in the next calendar year" is "incredibly small."
"I think we should be realistic about that, we're going to have to rely on other social measures," Whitty said.
Sarah Gilbert, professor of vaccinology at Oxford University, told The Times of London she was "80% confident" that the vaccine being developed by her team would work. It is hoped about a million doses could be ready by September.

The Oxford vaccine candidate, called ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, is made from a harmless chimpanzee virus.
"Vaccines made from the ChAdOx1 virus have been given to more than 320 people to date and have been shown to be safe and well tolerated, although they can cause temporary side effects, such as a temperature, headache or sore arm," according to the University of Oxford.



There are probably a lot more vaccine candidates in development. For example Canada is running 20 different clinical trials atm to test different treatments. (Most which will likely prove useless like hydroxychloroquine.

https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/drugs-health-products/covid19-clinical-trials/list-authorized-trials.html#wb-auto-5

At this time, there is no vaccine authorized to protect against COVID-19. Nevertheless, clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccines are ongoing around the world, and Health Canada is working with vaccine developers and manufacturers to help expedite the development and availability of vaccines to prevent COVID-19. Moreover, Health Canada is also collaborating with international regulators and organizations, including the International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities, on issues related to the development of COVID-19 vaccines.

Health Canada is working to fast-track clinical trial applications for COVID-19 vaccines. Companies and researchers with vaccines in development that may be effective in preventing COVID-19 are encouraged to contact Health Canada to facilitate the submission of clinical trial applications. While the Department is expediting discussions on clinical trials with companies who have products in development, it will only do so with those companies and researchers who have sufficient pre-clinical data to be planning clinical trials.



Good to know this problem is being worked hard at all over the world. Yet realistically, it will be well into next year before any vaccine can be widely deployed. We can't let our guard down for the next flu season, but maybe, just maybe, the most vulnerable could have something on top of the flu shot to get them through the winter.