This effort, if successful, is only one of many around the world, and will go for testing in two weeks ….
There WILL be other many vaccine’s developed and available before the 12 to 18 months American officials has said it would take here…
American officials will be under enormous pressure to either cut back trail times for domestic vaccines, or allow foreign vaccine’s into this country when they go on the market…
Trump is sure to champion any and all that are that become available as soon as possible….
A vaccine against the coronavirus could be ready by September, according to a scientist leading one of Britain’s most advanced teams.
Sarah Gilbert, professor of vaccinology at Oxford University, told The Times on Saturday that she is “80% confident” the vaccine would work, and could be ready by September. Experts have warned the public that vaccines typically take years to develop, and one for the coronavirus could take between 12 to 18 months at best.
In the case of the Oxford team, however, “it’s not just a hunch, and as every week goes by we have more data to look at,” Gilbert told the London newspaper.
Gilbert’s team is one of dozens worldwide working on a vaccine and is the most advanced in Britain, she told the Times. As the country looks set to begin its fourth week under lockdown, a vaccine could be fundamental in easing the measures and returning to normal life. Gilbert said human trials are due to start in the next two weeks….
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Manufacturing the millions of vaccine doses necessary could take months. Gilbert said she’s in discussions with the British government about funding, and starting production before the final results are in, allowing the public to access the vaccine immediately if it proves to work. She said success by the autumn was “just about possible if everything goes perfectly.”….
Spain and Germany both reported the smallest increase in deaths linked to the coronavirus in more than a week, but the spread of the pandemic has forced the leaders of Europe’s biggest economies to extend lockdowns.
Officials say the declines in the daily death toll in recent days are proof that the restrictive measures that have kept millions of Europeans confined to their homes are working to slow the spread of the virus. But they warn that easing restrictions too soon could unleash a new surge in cases.
Italy, which has the most deaths from the virus in Europe, yesterday announced it was extending its lockdown until May 3. Spain this week also prolonged its restrictions through the end of April…..
On the American side….
Gilead Sciences Inc.’s experimental drug for patients with severe Covid-19 infections showed promise in an early analysis, raising tentative hope that the first treatment for the novel virus may be on the horizon.
The report published in the New England Journal of Medicine tracked 53 people in the U.S., Europe and Canada who needed respiratory support, with about half receiving mechanical ventilation and four on a heart-lung by-pass machine…
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Several large scale clinical trials are underway to evaluate the benefit of remdesivir for Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus that has infected more than 1.65 million people worldwide and killed 100,000. One that was conducted in China could report results this month. Another, sponsored by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, has enrolled patients rapidly as the virus spread throughout the U.S. It could also report results in the coming weeks. Gilead itself is sponsoring an additional two trials…..
American virus drug trails appear to have started already….
Would Trump push to have US trail ‘s lowered to 6 months which would bring the US vaccine on market before the Brits and in late July or early August or sooner?
This being a political and business decision for Trump?
It’s an obscure U.S. government bureau with many missions, including this vital one: hunting down viral diseases like COVID-19 that spill over from animals to the human world.
But in late 2019 it found itself without a permanent leader, and squarely in the Trump administration’s budget-slashing sights.
That all changed with the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 20,000 Americans and more than 100,000 people across the world.
Now, the Global Health Bureau, part of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has abundant government support. Congress and President Trump have agreed to multiply the budget for the bureau’s activities that can support “global health security” and related efforts as much as fivefold, to more than half a billion dollars. And its top leadership position — left empty for three years by the White House and a plodding Senate confirmation process — finally was filled in late March…
More…
Two states that are success stories in fighting this disease:
California, the largest state by population by far with nearly 40 million residents, recognized the danger early and swung into action…
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The result is a remarkable success story: California has just 19,000 cases and 500 deaths. Despite being the biggest state, it ranks 29th among all states, territories, and D.C. for its rate of cases per 100,000 residents (just 49) and 31st in death rate per 100,000 (just 1)…
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It’s a similar story in Ohio, where Governor Mike DeWine was among the first governors (along with Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and Washington Governor Jay Inslee) to shut down schools in mid-March. DeWine also imposed a stay-at-home order early and other restrictions.
He says now that he decided early on to trust science and rely on experts, something he admits he didn’t always do when he was in ..
Fast Forward @ Boston Globe….