Oxford Begins COVID-19 Vaccine Trials to Meet September Deadline
On Mar. 17, 2020, European Commission (EC) president Ursula von der Leyen said she was hopeful a vaccine for COVID-19 could be available this September. Her view was based on conversations she had had with managers of German biotechnology firm CureVac AG which has developed an experimental messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine that it plans to […]
Face Masks to Prevent COVID-19: Conflicting Facts & Advice
In a media briefing on Mar. 30, 2020, World Health Organization (WHO) officials confirmed that facial masks for the prevention of COVID-19 should be worn by those who are sick or in close contact with those infected, and are not recommended for healthy members of the general population.1 A day later, U.S. Vice President Mike […]
Google Will Track Cell Phone User Locations to Monitor “Social Distancing”
Story Highlights Google has launched a new electronic surveillance initiative that collects location data from users of Google products and services, including cell phones, to track “social distancing” activity and publicly post “Community Mobility Reports” on a new Google website. Google surveillance reports will track and publicly report on the movements and activity of electronic […]
Inovio COVID-19 Vaccine Uses Electricity to Drive DNA Into Body Cells
Story Highlights Inovio Pharmaceuticals has started Phase 1 testing of its experimental COVID-19 DNA vaccine in healthy volunteers. The U.S. biotech firm has already produced enough of the vaccine to support Phase 1 (immune system reactivity and safety) and Phase 2 (efficacy) testing and plans to have one million doses ready for distribution by the […]
COVID-19 Meltdown and Pharma’s Big Money Win
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) told Americans on Apr. 1, 2020 that modeling reports suggested COVID-19 infections could eventually “kill 100,000 to 240,000 Americans,”1 2 3 which was considerably less than the worst case 1.7 million mortality figure the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) […]
A Vaccine for Coronavirus by Autumn?
There appears to be a consensus opinion among leading public health authorities that a coronavirus vaccine for COVID-19 would take at least 12-18 months to develop, test and be ready for market distribution. The projection assumes that an aggressive development schedule would produce a licensed vaccine proven safe and effective for use in humans no […]