Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Track The Vaccine Race: 25 In Human Trials, Many More In Development
The Washington Post: These Are The Top Coronavirus Vaccines To Watch
The worldwide effort to create a vaccine for the novel coronavirus kicked off in January, soon after scientists in China posted online the genome of a virus causing a mysterious pneumonia. Vaccine development usually takes years and unfolds step by step. Experimental vaccine candidates are created in the laboratory and tested in animals before moving into progressively larger human clinical trials. These steps are now overlapping in the race to find a vaccine for a global disease that has killed hundreds of thousands of people. (8/13)
CNN: Inside The Multibillion Dollar Race For A Vaccine
Four years. That’s the fastest a vaccine has ever been developed -- and most take 10 to 15. But scientists are now racing to do it in under one. Dozens of research teams around the world are working to develop a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, using a mix of established techniques and new technologies. (Mackintosh, Mezzofiore and Polglase, 8/14)
Stat: Covid-19 Clinical Trials Are Failing To Enroll Diverse Populations
It’s been well-established that Covid-19, at least in the United States, has disproportionately affected people of color. And yet clinical trials of treatments and vaccines for Covid-19 have so far failed to enroll diverse populations that actually reflect society. (Feuerstein, Garde and Robbins, 8/14)
Vox: These Covid-19 Vaccine Candidates Could Change The Way We Make Vaccines — If They Work
As urgency mounts for a Covid-19 coronavirus vaccine, a key question for scientists is whether this pandemic will be the watershed moment for two new technologies that have never before seen widespread use in humans. If proven effective, these approaches could dramatically speed up the development of other new vaccines and drastically lower costs, heralding a new era in the fight against infectious disease. (Ifran, 8/13)
And vaccine developments from overseas —
Reuters: China Sinopharm's Potential COVID-19 Vaccine Triggers Antibodies In Clinical Trials: Journal
A coronavirus vaccine candidate developed by a unit of China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) appeared to be safe and triggered antibody-based immune responses in early and mid-stage trials, researchers said. The candidate has already moved into a late-stage trial, one of a handful of candidates being tested on several thousand people to see if they are effective enough to win regulatory approval. (8/14)
AP: Indonesia Takes Part In Late-Stage China Vaccine Trial
More people in Indonesia rolled up their sleeves Friday to test a potential coronavirus vaccine developed by a Chinese company. The Indonesian government announced the partnership between state-owned enterprise Bio Farma and the Chinese company Sinovac BioTech in early July. As part of the deal, Indonesia recruited 1,620 volunteers for the trial. The first 20 were injected with the candidate vaccine in Bandung, West Java province, on Tuesday, and more followed suit. (Tarigan and Milko, 8/14)
Reuters: UK Buys More Potential COVID-19 Vaccines From J&J And Novavax
Britain will buy potential COVID-19 vaccines from U.S. drugmakers Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) and Novavax Inc (NVAX.O), the companies said on Friday, bringing the total number of deals by the UK government to six as the race for shots heats up. Johnson & Johnson said its Janssen Pharmaceutica unit will supply the UK government with its candidate known as Ad26.COV2.S with an initial sale of 30 million doses on a not-for-profit basis for emergency pandemic use. (Smout and Mason, 8/14)
More response to Russia's vaccine —
CNN: Russia Offers To Help US With Covid-19 Vaccine; US Says No
Russian officials in Moscow tell CNN they have offered "unprecedented cooperation" with Operation Warp Speed (OWS), the US multi-agency body set up to accelerate access to effective Covid-19 vaccines and treatments. But the officials told CNN that the "US is not currently open" to the Russian medical advances. (Chance, Ullah and Salama, 8/13)
PBS NewsHour: Fauci Says Despite Upcoming Election, Science Will Not Be Politicized
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, urged caution on Thursday as countries race to develop an effective vaccine for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. “Just to say you have a vaccine doesn’t mean that you should be administering the vaccine,” Fauci said of Russia’s recent decision to approve a vaccine, which was met with skepticism by the scientific community. (Woodruff and Vinopal, 8/13)
