“You may choose to look the other way, but you can never say again that you did not know.”
— William Wilberforce
Pfizer is conducting phase 2 trials for the development of a vaccine that will target pregnant women to prevent newborns from infection with Group B Streptococcal (GBS). The vaccine was granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in September and the agency has indicated it will fast track the product’s […]
American pharmaceutical and biotechnology company Moderna, Inc., which partnered with the U.S. National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to develop an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine being distributed in the United States under an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) announced that it is developing a combined single-dose booster vaccine for COVID-19 and seasonal influenza.1 In a […]
The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) has provided the University of Maryland with a $3.5 million dollar grant to develop a vaccine for Lyme disease.1 Principal investigators Utal Pal, PhD, professor at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and Matthias Schnell, PhD, director […]
Story Highlights Even before a vaccine against COVID-19 has been introduced to the public in the U.S., expectations for it are low. Dr. Anthony Fauci warns that a COVID-19 vaccine is not expected to be either long-lasting or more than 50 to 60 percent effective. Citing experience with other vaccines, a COVID-19 vaccine is not […]
There are more than 150 experimental COVID-19 vaccines under development around the world, all of which are being designed for intramuscular injection.1 Some researchers are investigating whether the conventional intramuscular injection route is less effective when using vaccines to prevent microbial infections that invade the respiratory airway like SARS-CoV-2.2 Avery August, PhD, an immunologist at […]
The University of Oxford’s Jenner Institute and Oxford Vaccine Group in the United Kingdom has announced that its researchers have begun recruiting children aged five to 12 years for phase II and phase III clinical trials testing an experimental COVID-19 vaccine the university is developing in partnership with AstraZeneca plc.1 Oxford’s ChAdOx1 nCov-19 (“chimpanzee adenovirus […]
In an interview with the JAMA on June 2, 2020, Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) said that while he was “cautiously optimistic” about the effectiveness of the vaccines being developed for COVID-19, he was concerned that any protection the vaccines may provide might only be temporary. […]
Story Highlights The Chicago Department of Public Health has launched a website and a mobile device application encouraging residents to pre-register to get for a future COVID-19 vaccine. Chicago’s Mayor said the electronic database will be used to prepare plans for mass vaccination of all residents after a COVID-19 vaccine is licensed by the FDA […]
Story Highlights GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi Pasteur are partnering to develop an experimental COVID-19 vaccine. The two global vaccine manufacturers are using existing recombinant DNA vaccine technology and a squalene adjuvant for their COVID-19 vaccine. Clinical trials are scheduled to begin in the second half of 2020 and, if successful, the vaccine will be available in […]
In recent weeks Inovio Pharmaceuticals of Pennsylvania and representatives of the German biotechnology firm CureVac AG and the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom have announced that their experimental COVID-19 vaccines will be ready for use by September 2020. On Apr. 29, 2020, Pfizer, Inc. of New York stated in a news release that […]