Light at the end of the tunnel, and a gift from Warp Speed -> vaccine more than 90% effective

Great news indeed! And they say they will have 1.3 billion doses next year. The stock market is reaching new highs based on this...

Jim

Well, this is most excellent and welcome news!

From an April NY Times article:

"Officials like Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the top infectious disease expert on the Trump administration’s coronavirus task force, estimate a vaccine could arrive in at least 12 to 18 months ... (but) the grim truth behind this rosy forecast is that a vaccine probably won’t arrive any time soon. Clinical trials almost never succeed. We’ve never released a coronavirus vaccine for humans before. Our record for developing an entirely new vaccine is at least four years — more time than the public or the economy can tolerate social-distancing orders."

And then there were other accounts of how long it took to develop, perfect and distribute other vaccines, and the likely need for the patience we would need before one for COVID would be here.

But look at where we may be now!

From the article linked in the OP:

"It’s a record-breaking time frame for a process that normally takes about a decade for an effective and safe vaccine. The fastest-ever vaccine development, mumps, took more than four years and was licensed in 1967."

Yes, we still have a ways to go, but what wonderful progress!

It reminds me of a scene from a film from a few years back which, while referring to an entirely different circumstance, captures, I think, the spirit of this hopeful development.

"Do not tell me it can't be done!"

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=pearl+harbor+fdr+stand+up+scene+youtube&docid=607989656617159740&mid=9b0a0f857df14633c3e19b0a0f857df14633c3e1&view=detail&form=vire

Buddy Blank said...
What great news! Congrats to Operation Warp Speed! This certainly is a record for vaccine development.

Sr Sailor said...
Operation Warpspeed has nothing to do with the development of this vaccine.
Pfizer did this on its own with the ‘technology’ from the German company BioNtech.

Pfizer Research Head Distances COVID-19 Vaccine From Trump's Operation Warp Speed

"Pfizer's head of vaccine research has distanced the firm's COVID-19 vaccine development from the White House's Operation Warp Speed.

Launched earlier this year, Operation Warp Speed was set up with the goal to help produce and deliver 300 million doses of vaccines, with initial doses of these to be available from January 2021.

Pfizer Inc. on Monday announced that its vaccine in development with BioNTech was "more than 90 percent effective," according to early trial data which still faces rigorous scrutiny before it can receive regulatory approval.

Trump welcomed the Pfizer announcement branding it "SUCH GREAT NEWS!", as did Pence, who is head of the White House's Coronavirus Task Force.

While government figures welcomed the program's progress, Kathrin Jansen, the head of vaccine research and development at Pfizer, sought to distance it from them.

She told The New York Times: "We have never taken any money from the U.S. government, or from anyone."

Jansen also told The Times that Pfizer was "never part" of Operation Warp Speed.

[Emphasis mine]

Djin

We'll need two injections, 21 days apart.

Say it's really 75% effective, 75% of the population is willing to take it, COVID mutations aren't very prevalent, and the vaccine is long lasting with minimal side effects.....we still have a long way to go. BUT, hope springs eternal, and it is a step in the right direction.

The line for claiming credit for Warp Speed, the vaccine...no matter how effective, and it's distribution will be long, confusing, and reflect our collective integrity.

Every company working on vaccines, etc. has benefited from Operation Warp Speed. Pfizer worked hand and hand with the crash program. The mobilization is akin to the Manhattan Project.

The Newsweek headline, and New York Times quotes contained in it, is PURE FANTASY, driven by their bias, not reality.

To wit: DR. DOLSTEN: "Mr. President, Mr. Vice President, I’m chief scientist for Pfizer."

THE PRESIDENT: "Yeah."

DR. DOLSTEN: "We are very pleased to be here. And, for us, it’s been always important, when there’s a major public health threats, to come together across the industry, with biotechs and federal agencies. We are highly appreciative of the initiative that you’re taking in this powerful way to have all of us around this table.

"Pfizer, as you know, is a proud American company. We have 170 years of experience, originally founded in Brooklyn and headquartered in New York. And we have brought many vaccines, therapeutics of small or large types for patients suffering from many different diseases, including infectious diseases.

"Now, specifically for the COVID-19, the coronavirus, we have identified compounds — medicines that we have that we think (inaudile) activity against very related viruses — have good, high probability to be active against COVID-19. And, in March, we are confirming that assumption with laboratories that have access to do this (inaudible) work of using the live virus to perform activity.

"That would allow us to work closely with Dr. Hahn here at the FDA and identify the fastest path to bring it to patients. That should happen, if things go well, this year. And as soon as possible, I can hear your encouragement to all of us.

"I want also to say that Pfizer has 30 — 3-0 — R&D manufacturing sites in the U.S.; more than 30,000 Americans involved in making or discovering medicines. And we’re willing to share our experience, our capabilities as a team here, to make sure that the public in America gets the best solutions.

THE PRESIDENT: "So do you expect to be dealing with each other a little bit? You’re competitors, but in this case, it’s different. This is something we want to get done very quickly. Do you expect to be sharing your own capabilities with Pfizer and everybody else?"

PARTICIPANT: "Absolutely."

THE PRESIDENT: "Good."

DR. DOLSTEN: "I think the (inaudible) that have come from you makes all of us feel that we should be one team here."

THE PRESIDENT: "I agree. We would appreciate that."

DR. DOLSTEN: "And as a closing remark, we’ve had a tremendous partnership with NIH and NIAID in many areas being — pioneering to bring medicine or advances forward with CDC dialogues and with FDA here. So for us — we look forward to extend this relationship to make sure that Americans can, as fast as possible, given your encouragement to us, we have different options to protect them. Protection is by vaccines. To deal with those that are exposed, we need treatment, and those that are ill, we need treatment."

"So it’s not just one solution. I think, from this team, we should offer multiple approaches — therapeutic and vaccines — (inaudible)."

THE PRESIDENT: "Do you see that happening? Because I notice you have a few different variants of what we’re talking about. Do you see that happening where maybe there are different either therapeutics or vaccines, or both, where you use combinations of each, maybe in different areas?"

DR. DOLSTEN: "I think you are right on the frontier of science; it is about combination. And even looking at colleagues here at Gilead, we have learned that if you have two different mechanisms and put them together as treatment, the likelihood of curing, or (inaudible) responses is higher. And we actually work on complementary mechanisms."

THE PRESIDENT: "I think it’s fantastic. I love —"

MR. O’DAY: "It’s been the story of HIV."

THE PRESIDENT: "Yeah. I love the complementary. If you can do that, I love the complementary."

DR. DOLSTEN: "You can count on our commitment here."

THE PRESIDENT: "Yeah, that’s fantastic. Thank you very much. That’s, really, very exciting."

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-members-coronavirus-task-force-meeting-pharmaceutical-companies/

Pfizer was referring to Warp Speed's help in the step of getting a successful vaccine to the public. I think thanks for that are premature. The company's statements on development and on distribution are clear.

Djin

DjinTonic said...
Pfizer was referring to Warp Speed's help in the step of getting a successful vaccine to the public. I think thanks for that are premature.

Djin

Clearly you didn't read Pfizer's chief scientist re: Operation Warp Speed above. Let me quote Dr. Dolsten: "And as a closing remark, we’ve had a tremendous partnership with NIH and NIAID in many areas being — pioneering to bring medicine or advances forward with CDC dialogues and with FDA here. So for us — we look forward to extend this relationship to make sure that Americans can, as fast as possible, given your encouragement to us, we have different options to protect them. Protection is by vaccines. To deal with those that are exposed, we need treatment, and those that are ill, we need treatment."

When Moses parted the Red Sea, CNN was not there to report it, but it still happened. ;-)

"July 22: HHS announced up to $1.95 billion in funds to Pfizer for the large-scale manufacturing and nationwide distribution of 100 million doses of their vaccine candidate. The federal government will own the 100 million doses of vaccine initially produced as a result of this agreement, and Pfizer will deliver the doses in the United States if the product successfully receives FDA EUA or licensure, as outlined in FDA guidance, after completing demonstration of safety and efficacy in a large Phase 3 clinical trial, which began July 27th."

https://www.hhs.gov/coronavirus/explaining-operation-warp-speed/index.html

Buddy Blank said...
"July 22: HHS announced up to $1.95 billion in funds to Pfizer for the large-scale manufacturing and nationwide distribution of 100 million doses of their vaccine candidate. The federal government will own the 100 million doses of vaccine initially produced as a result of this agreement, and Pfizer will deliver the doses in the United States if the product successfully receives FDA EUA or licensure, as outlined in FDA guidance, after completing demonstration of safety and efficacy in a large Phase 3 clinical trial, which began July 27th."

https://www.hhs.gov/coronavirus/explaining-operation-warp-speed/index.html

This is certainly true -- the federal government will be buying a finished product. Pfizer issued their statement to correct the VP's trumpeting that the government was involved in the vaccine's development. The VP may not have been aware that although other companies did take federal money for development under Warp Speed, Pfizer did not.

Djin

Post Edited (DjinTonic) : 11/9/2020 12:55:22 PM (GMT-7)

60 Minutes had a pretty good story on Sunday evening on the military and others involved in the delivery of the vaccine when ready. At first glance, it looks like they are pretty well prepared for a two dose system stored at really cold temperatures. I was feeling better knowing FedEx will be involved in the transport of the vaccine.

Caleb1968 said...
Before everyone applauds, some careful reflection is appropriate from articles like the link below. If you don’t know what thalamide was in the 1950’s, do some homework. There are many more articles like this one that encourage great caution.

https://medium.com/@michaelzimmerman_40329/why-ill-not-be-taking-a-covid-19-vaccine-and-i-m-a-scientist-c8e7d7004890

Fortunately, we in the US had Frances Kelsey, a physician and pharmacologist rather than a political appointee, who kept thalidomide off the US market.

"For a critical 19-month period, she fastidiously blocked its approval while drug company officials maligned her as a bureaucratic nitpicker."

Ironically, thalidomide has several important, safe medical indications and probably added a couple of years to my dad's lifespan.

Djin

I guess warp speed does work on Star Trek.