Covid-19 Vaccine Research, Development, Ingredients and Reactions

[Naturale]

Professor Francois Balloux (UCL Genetics, Evolution & Environment) highlights the political sentiment surrounding the Russian Covid-19 vaccine, and discusses the ethical issues involved with Russia having bypassed normal safety trials.

 

Yesterday Russia President Vladimir Putin claimed a huge victory: a new vaccine against Covid-19 has been approved, and mass vaccination will commence in October. Describing it as “quite effective”, the President added that it had passed all the required checks. And in case there were any lingering doubts, he reassured the population that his daughter had already been given it.

It should come as no surprise that these claims are all highly dubious. In fact, the Russian government bypassed proper safety and efficacy trials for their vaccine, which was approved after only two months of testing on humans. Not only is this a reckless and foolish decision, but mass vaccination with an improperly tested vaccine is deeply unethical.

 

The motivation feels political. By naming the vaccine Sputnik V — a clear allusion to the first Soviet space satellites in 1957 — Russia is inscribing itself in a vaccine arms race reminiscent of the Cold War. The Sputnik satellite represented a major moral victory for the Soviet Union over the USA, and Putin is hoping to tap into something similar. After all, this is a leader whose approval ratings dropped to record lows this year, and stemming the Covid-19 pandemic with the world’s first vaccine has an obvious political upside.

There is not much known about the Russian vaccine because, mysteriously, no publication about it has been released in the scientific literature. As far as I can tell, it seems to be a ‘prime-boost’ vaccine relying on sequential inoculation of two different recombinants of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein integrated into the adenovirus serotype 9 and 26 vectors, respectively...

 

On a mass scale, this vaccine could lead to an unacceptably high proportion of the vaccinated population experiencing severe side effects. More concerning, however, would be for the vaccine to cause a rare phenomenon called Antibody-Dependent Enhancement (ADE), whereby those inoculated experience more severe disease symptoms upon infection, rather than being protected...

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2020/aug/opinion-putins-dangerous-vaccine-gamble

Edited December 7, 2020 by Naturale

[friendlyone]

We also had the announcement at our weekend WT meeting, with it being mentioned the announcement would be repeated at our midweek meeting.

 

Perhaps the Governing Body has in mind that apart from the urgent need to know situation, it wouldn't be good for potentially millions of people around the world contacting the drugs companies all asking the same question. I don't think the manufacturers would appreciate the deluge of enquiries.

 

It certainly is good to have this information for this, and future covid vaccinations.

[Dages]

We had the announcement about pfizer and Bion vaccines.

Me and my family will still be waiting before taking any of these. 

[Lee49]

https://uk.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-who-idUKKBN28I1A8

 

WHO says immune barrier from vaccines "still far off"

 

 A World Health Organization official said on Monday that only public health measures, not vaccines, can prevent a new surge of COVID-19 cases as the first vaccines are administered in Britain.

“Vaccines are a great tool, they will be very helpful, but the effect of the vaccine in providing some kind of immune barrier is still far off,” said Dr. Margaret Harris in response to a question at a Geneva briefing about whether the vaccines would come in time to prevent a third wave of cases in Europe.

“The things that must be done to prevent an increase, an uptick, a surge or whatever you want to call it are the public health measures,” she added.

[runner92]

1 hour ago, Lee49 said:

https://uk.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-who-idUKKBN28I1A8

 

WHO says immune barrier from vaccines "still far off"

 

 A World Health Organization official said on Monday that only public health measures, not vaccines, can prevent a new surge of COVID-19 cases as the first vaccines are administered in Britain.

“Vaccines are a great tool, they will be very helpful, but the effect of the vaccine in providing some kind of immune barrier is still far off,” said Dr. Margaret Harris in response to a question at a Geneva briefing about whether the vaccines would come in time to prevent a third wave of cases in Europe.

“The things that must be done to prevent an increase, an uptick, a surge or whatever you want to call it are the public health measures,” she added.

I’m sorry, but this can’t be kept up for year after year after year. Too many aren’t even bothering to wear a mask. They have to know this. They’re going to have to find actual treatments instead of waiting on this vaccine to work miracles, because these preventative measures aren’t really working. 
 

These games they keep playing is why I strongly feel there’s an ulterior motive behind this whole thing. 

Edited December 8, 2020 by runner92

[McKay]

9 hours ago, Dages said:

We had the announcement about pfizer and Bion vaccines.

Me and my family will still be waiting before taking any of these. 

Me and my family will take it as soon as humanly possible.

 

3 hours ago, runner92 said:

These games they keep playing

What games? I don't understand.

[New World Explorer]

We had letter read about vaccines as the rest of the world. 

[Katty]

1 hour ago, McKay said:

 

 

What games? I don't understand.

Idk what Gabby is specifically referring to, but I've been keeping up with the news cycle since the beginning of the pandemic.
In the beginning, stay at home orders were to be temporary "15 days to slow the spread".
Then they started with the travel bans, and that was only supposed to last a month.
Then some places implemented harsher lockdowns, and in many of those places, those were supposed to be only a few weeks, only to drag onto several months.
Then I read several articles stating things should return to some sense of normalcy and things like travel bans will be lifted when the vaccines come and are available,

and now, even before the vaccine is available, they're already saying "Hold your horses, we need to wait even longer so that enough people take the vaccine before we stop these lockdowns"
I have seen actual evidence throughtis progression of the narrative produced by the media, that the governments have been absolutely shifting goalposts at every turn.
I'm not going to be conspiratorial and state any specific reason (like the idea going around about the 'Great Reset', which I haven't really seen too much evidence for or against) except for the fact that it seems likely that once government holds onto those emergency powers, they're not in a big hurry to end the emergency.
In the effort to stop people from dying from Covid-19, the governments have led to more people dying of other illnesses like cancer, due to being barred from getting their regular screenings in many places. This has not benefited most people it's affected in a great way, even if it might have prevented deaths from one illness.

[Qapla]

Too many people are looking for a "magic" cure and an "instant" solution to COVID.

 

It's like the people who gathered "en-mass" for their Thanksgiving Holiday on Thursday and then got tested on Friday/Saturday and said, "See, we're still negative. What was all the fuss" - not accepting that it takes time for the infection to show up.

 

The same holds true of the vaccine. I have come across too many people that think the moment they take the jab they are immune.

 

It is only reasonable, not conspiracy, to understand that it will take time after the vaccine program starts for enough people to gain immunity to slow and/or halt C-19 - and for the Governments to say that.

 

[walkr2]

Mederna wasn’t mention. Or was it.  It is For the elderly.

Not mentioned as yet!

[New World Explorer]

40 days without COVID-19 case in Victoria today. 
A lot of restrictions removed. Let’s wait and see what happens after summer ...vaccine roll out is planned for March (right after summer) 
 

[The Outcast]

The vaccination program in Great Britain with BioNTech / Pfizer Vaccine BNT162b2 got its (slow) start today.

The UK is importing a large amount of vaccine doses before Brexit.
Germany and the EU want to start with a huge number of vaccine doses in 4 to 6 weeks. Vaccination centers are emerging everywhere.
In Germany the goal is 50,000 vaccinations per day.
First, medical staff and risk groups are vaccinated.
I think we will know in a few months whether there are any side effects and what they are.

[Bob]

1 hour ago, Qapla said:

It is only reasonable, not conspiracy, to understand that it will take time after the vaccine program starts for enough people to gain immunity to slow and/or halt C-19 - and for the Governments to say that.

This is reasonable. And I think its Pfizer vaccine (correct me if I am wrong) that requires two doses a couple weeks apart. I suspect by the Spring we will see an impact on COVID if enough people take it.

[Qapla]

I think summer may be a more realistic timeframe with next fall being a timeframe for things "returning to normal".

 

Especially so with the Organization. I look to see us continue Zoom meetings through the end of this Service Year.

 

[McKay]

23 minutes ago, Qapla said:

Especially so with the Organization. I look to see us continue Zoom meetings through the end of this Service Year.

I really hope this won't be so but with the attitudes of the world towards the vaccine (and honestly, some here) I don't see going back to normal anytime soon.

[Katty]

1 hour ago, Qapla said:

 

The same holds true of the vaccine. I have come across too many people that think the moment they take the jab they are immune.

 

 

 

if a vaccine is claimed to be 95% effective, it would stand to reason that 95% of the people who say that of the covid vaccine would be correct in their assessment.
(unless it mutates enough any time soon)

[Qapla]

The time frame for resuming meetings at the KH will not be rushed. The FDS id discreet.

 

It will take time to distribute the vaccine to enough people for it to be effective. More time will be needed for those vaccinated to actually gain immunity  -   it is NOT instant. Then there will be more time needed to retest the population to see how effective the vaccine really is.

 

Although the designing, testing and manufacturing a new vaccine can be "fast tracked" - and, even with a "stepped up distribution" of the vaccine - you cannot rush the natural immunity the human body must develop.

 

Taking until the new Service Year to resume "In Hall" meetings does not have anything to do with those who are disinclined to take a vaccine - it is simply the time it will realistically take if everything goes smooth ... look for it to be longer if resistance to take the vaccine by enough people pushes "herd immunity" further into 2021.

 

[Lee49]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/12/07/pfizer-vaccine-doses-trump/

Pfizer tells U.S. officials it cannot supply substantial additional vaccine until late June or July

 

 Pfizer has told the Trump administration it cannot provide substantial additional doses of its coronavirus vaccine until late June or July because other countries have rushed to buy up most of its supply, according to multiple individuals familiar with the situation.

 Last summer, Pfizer officials had urged Operation Warp Speed to purchase 200 million doses, or enough of the two-shot regimen for 100 million people, according to people knowledgeable about the issue who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the situation. But the Warp Speed officials declined, opting instead for 100 million doses, they said. The New York Times first reported that federal officials passed on the opportunity when Pfizer offered to sell more doses.

 

Hindsight is 20/20?

 

[Qapla]

And now it is being reported on TV news that Trump signed an executive order blocking Pfizer from selling those doses to other countries until the US has gotten all they need ... it is unclear how this will work since Pfizer is already shipping dosses to other countries.

 

[Lance]

https://www.khanacademy.org/science/ap-biology/gene-expression-and-regulation/transcription-and-rna-processing/a/eukaryotic-gene-transcription-going-from-dna-to-mrna
 

Here is a link to help to understand how mRNA 

functions ... basically it all boils down to how to communicate to the amazing factory within a cell... so that the factory can make things that are needed to protect the body..

 

Here is part of it...

 

 

Genes are stored deep inside a cell, in a locked room called the nucleus. Ribosomes, the machines that assemble proteins, live outside the nucleus, floating around in a soup of chemicals called the cytosol. This spatial separation presents a logistical hurdle for the cell. A ribosome needs the instructions in a gene to put the corresponding protein together, but genes are trapped inside the nucleus. How do the instructions in a gene get out of the nucleus and to the ribosome?

The solution is simple (if you ignore the details). The instructions in a gene (written in the language of DNA nucleotides) are transcribed into a portable gene, called an mRNA transcript. These mRNA transcripts escape the nucleus and travel to the ribosomes, where they deliver their protein assembly instructions. The creation of mRNA transcripts (the creation of these portable genes) is called gene transcription. Let’s learn about it.

An analogy for understanding transcription

Imagine that you are the owner of an Italian restaurant. You store all the recipes that your cooks use in one big book and every night, when the kitchen closes down, you store the book in your office for safe keeping. Now imagine that one Saturday afternoon the door to your office has a major malfunction, and you and the recipe book get locked inside. The restaurant opens for business in a few hours. You try calling every locksmith in town, but nobody is open on the weekend. How are you going to get the recipes from inside your locked office to the cooks on the outside so that they can make the dishes your customers order? 

You come up with the following system. When a customer places an order for a particular dish, you have the waiter come knock on your door and tell you. You turn around and find the relevant recipe in the book, and then you write it down on a 3x5 notecard. Because space is tight and time is of the essence, you use some shorthand and abbreviations but make sure to include all the essential elements of the recipe. You then put the notecard in a sealable plastic bag (to protect it from damage in the kitchen) and slide it under the crack at the bottom of the door. The waiter takes the card to the cook waiting in the kitchen, and the cook has the information he needs to make the customer’s dish. Problem solved. (If you ignore the fact that you're still locked inside your office!) 

The mechanics of transcription

In cells, transcription is the process that resembles copying a recipe onto a 3x5 card and sliding it under the office door. The 3x5 card, with the recipe written on it, is analogous to a messenger RNA transcript (mRNA transcript, for short). An mRNA transcript is a single strand of RNA that encapsulate the information contained in a gene. Think of an mRNA transcript as a portable gene: smaller and more mobile than the DNA sequence that it is built from, but containing the same information. 

—————-//

So when companies make mRNA treatments ... 

Once they get the right recipe, it is very easy to make, from simple building blocks of chemicals..that occur naturally in our bodies.

 

The difficulty is that these mRNA particles last only a few minutes to a few hours before they are broken down... hence the reason they have to be refrigerated...

But once the information can get into a cell then the cell says thanks for the information I will produce proteins that will protect the cell from disease ... 

So these types of vaccines are not like the old vaccines...  which take years to build ... purify and produce in large quantities...like the common Adenovirus vector for Sputnik V .. 

Just to be clear I am not endorsing  or putting these new treatments down .. just explaining how they work within the body... the only cure for mans ailments is the kingdom 

Edited December 9, 2020 by Lance

[Shawnster]

3 hours ago, McKay said:

I really hope this won't be so but with the attitudes of the world towards the vaccine (and honestly, some here) I don't see going back to normal anytime soon.

We won't be first or in a rush to return to normal.  Our return will be gradual.  I would not be surprised if carts/metro witnessing returns before door-to-door.  Perhaps we'll return to the Kingdom Halls (small group) before returning to the Assembly Halls (large group).  

55 minutes ago, Qapla said:

And now it is being reported on TV news that Trump signed an executive order blocking Pfizer from selling those doses to other countries until the US has gotten all they need ... it is unclear how this will work since Pfizer is already shipping dosses to other countries.

 

Would only be a temporary delay in the long run.  Biden will be President in 6 weeks and his first executive order could be reversing this decision.

[New World Explorer]

6 hours ago, Qapla said:

And now it is being reported on TV news that Trump signed an executive order blocking Pfizer from selling those doses to other countries until the US has gotten all they need ... it is unclear how this will work since Pfizer is already shipping dosses to other countries.

 

Yep...10 million doses are coming to Australia. 

 

Who will get it first in Australia?

The government has a priority system, pushing the following groups to front of the line:

1. People who have an increased risk (elderly, people with certain health problems, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people).

2. People with an increased risk of exposure (health and aged care workers, group residential care workers and disability care workers, those employed at correctional and detention facilities and meat processing plants).

3. People working in emergency services, defence forces, public health staff, staff managing quarantine facilities and workers employed by major infrastructure and utilities companies

Edited December 9, 2020 by New World Explorer

[friendlyone]

20 hours ago, runner92 said:

I’m sorry, but this can’t be kept up for year after year after year. Too many aren’t even bothering to wear a mask. They have to know this. They’re going to have to find actual treatments instead of waiting on this vaccine to work miracles, because these preventative measures aren’t really working. 
 

These games they keep playing is why I strongly feel there’s an ulterior motive behind this whole thing. 

What games are you referring to? We live in an imperfect system with imperfect politicians, and imperfect scientists, many doing the best they can in a terrible situation.

 

Sadly of course some politicians have treated the whole thing as a joke, until they themselves get it, then they take it more seriously. And there are probably still some individuals out there who think covid is a hoax.

 

I don't think it's in anyone's interests to keep this pandemic going any longer than it has to.

 

 

[Naturale]

The H1N1 strain became endemic, an infectious disease that was constantly with us at less severe levels, circulating for another 40 years as a seasonal virus. It took another pandemic—H2N2 in 1957—to extinguish most of the 1918 strain. One flu virus kicked out another one, essentially, and scientists don’t really know how. Human efforts to do the same have failed. “Nature can do it, we cannot,” says virologist Florian Krammer of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City.

[Naturale]

15 hours ago, The German said:

I think we will know in a few months whether there are any side effects and what they are.

and then there are the possible long term side effects.  No-one has waited for long-term safety evaluations before going ahead.

Edited December 9, 2020 by Naturale