Following the SARS outbreak in 2003, researchers produced a vaccine that made it to phase one human trials, which test the safety of a new drug. But the effort never progressed further, mainly due to shifting research priorities as the outbreak came to an end, says Dr. Anthony Fauci, the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases .
In theory, it would be fairly easy to adapt that vaccine model to target unique aspects of the Wuhan coronavirus, which has already been sequenced by Chinese researchers. Adapting previously made monoclonal antibodies, which help the immune system attack foreign substances, provides another option, he says. “You never want to be too cavalier,” Fauci says. “You do always hit snags, but fundamentally and conceptually, it’s not a big deal do that.
Fauci says NIAID is working with biotechnology company Moderna to get an experimental vaccine into phase one trials, a process he estimates will take about three months and a couple million dollars. That doesn’t mean people could actually get vaccinated that quickly—a phase one trial is just one more step toward safe human use, usually following animal studies but preceding efficacy studies—but Fauci says it’s worth the investment required to move a shot along the research track.
Vaccine development may well outlast the disease outbreak itself, says Timothy Sheahan, who researches coronaviruses with Baric at UNC—but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth developing one, if only to be prepared for the future. Ebola is a relevant parallel, Sheahan says. “In the 2014 [Ebola outbreak in West Africa], they didn’t have drugs or vaccines on line until it was really late,” he says. “Those things were in place for the re-emergence of Ebola” in 2018 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which has improved the public-health response this time around.Sign up to receive the latest health and science news, plus answers to wellness questions and expert tips.
Makes great news huh? How about the 56,000 people that die from the flu each year? Not just a dramatic, fear-mungering news story huh?
PeoplesPharmacy or before it spreads to sh5tholes like los angeles or san francisco
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