‍Coronavirus Vaccine in China Produces Neutralizing Antibodies in Early-stage Trial

A potential coronavirus vaccine developed in China appeared to provoke neutralizing antibodies in dozens of patients in an early-stage clinical trial, an important step in developing a vaccine that might provide immunity to Covid-19.

The vaccine candidate also induced binding antibodies in most of the patients within 28 days and appeared to be safe and well-tolerated, according to the findings of the phase one trial published Friday in The Lancet.

“These results represent an important milestone,” Wei Chen, a professor at the Beijing Institute of Biotechnology and who led the study, said in a press release. “However, these results should be interpreted cautiously. The challenges in the development of a Covid-19 vaccine are unprecedented, and the ability to trigger these immune responses does not necessarily indicate that the vaccine will protect humans from Covid-19.”

The potential vaccine from CanSino Biologic, called Ad5-nCoV, was approved for human trials in March. The participants were ages 18 to 60 and received a low, medium, or high dose. There were 36 people in each of the three groups of low, medium, and high dosages. 

The concentration of neutralizing antibodies, which researchers believe is important in acquiring protection against the virus, appeared to increase with dose strength, they said. By day 28, half of the patients in the low- and middle-dose groups showed neutralizing antibodies compared with three-quarter of patients in the high-dose group. 

The researchers noted the small sample size and said further research will be needed before this vaccine can become available.

The findings were published days after biotech firm Moderna released early findings for its potential vaccine. 

Moderna said its potential vaccine produced neutralizing antibodies for eight of the patients whose data was available so far. Additionally, all 45 patients in the study produced binding antibodies seen at similar levels of people who have recovered from the virus, the company said. 

There are no proven treatments for Covid-19. Scientists are optimistic a vaccine to prevent the disease will be ready in the first half of 2021 — 12 to 18 months since Chinese scientists first identified the coronavirus and mapped its genetic sequence.

More than 100 vaccines are under development globally, according to the World Health Organization. At least eight vaccines are in human trials.

Scientists hope the antibodies provide some degree of protection against getting Covid-19, but they can’t say that definitively since it hasn’t been studied and some patients appear to have been re-infected after recovering from the virus. 

In the CanSino Biologic vaccine trial, most patients typically reported pain at the injection site and others reported fever, fatigue or a headache, the Chinese researchers said. One participant who received the higher dose reported severe fever along with severe symptoms of fatigue, shortness of breath and muscle pain. The reactions persisted for less than 48 hours.

The researchers are now conducting phase two trial with 500 patients. 

From https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/22

First inactivated COVID-19 vaccine enters 2nd phase of clinical trial

Using killed novel coronavirus, the inactivated COVID-19 vaccine, developed by Wuhan Institute of Biological Products under the China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) and the Wuhan Institute of Virology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has become the first of its own that entered into the second phase of clinical trials in China on Friday.

With 96 people being inoculated, the vaccine is also the second type that has been allowed to start second phase of clinical trials, 12 days after first approved to start human tests.

Aged 18 to 60, all the participants are reported in good condition after the inoculation, and will continue to be in close observation, said the company's announcement. The second phase will involve more people to further testify the safety and efficiency of the vaccine.

Yang Xiaoming, CEO of the Sinopharm, told Chinanews, besides the safety concern, the most important thing during the second phase is to keep a close eye on whether the vaccine can produce antibodies among these health participants.

"Expand the age group from above 60 to under six may offer us more possibilities and various results," Yang added.

Since inactivated vaccines don't provide immunity that is as strong as live vaccines, several doses over time are needed in order to get ongoing immunity against diseases.

Such questions like "how many doses and how much dosage are needed" have to be fixed out during clinical trials, Yang explained.

Currently, the randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled clinical trials of the inactivated vaccine are carried out in Jiaozuo, central China's Henan Province, and will last for at least one month. For the third-phrase, Yang told trials will be conducted in those hit-hard regions like Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak in China, to further assess the safety, immune responses, and side effects.

The company estimated that completing the whole vaccine assessment will need another six more months. So, it may not be available until next year.

In an interview with CGTN, Dr. Gao Fu, head of China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told there would be a vaccine that can be ready for emergency use by September. But whether this one can be the lucky dog is still unknown.

China has now approved three COVID-19 vaccine candidates for clinical trials, with the recombinant adenovirus vector-based vaccine (Ad5-nCoV) listed as the world's first vaccine goes into second phase by the World Health Organization. This special type is able to act as a natural infection and is especially good at teaching the immune system how to fight germs.

Developed by a research team at the Institute of Military Medicine under the Academy of Military Sciences, China's Ad5-nCoV is now a promising candidate, as the method was used by the same team to successfully develop an Ebola vaccine in 2017.

From https://news.cgtn.com/news/2020-04-25

‍Why vaccination is safe and important 

Vaccines are the most effective way to prevent infectious diseases. Here you can find information about how vaccines work, what they contain and the most common side effects.

Important!!

Be aware that anti-vaccine stories are spread online through social media. They may not be based on scientific evidence and could put your child at risk of a serious illness. 

‍Do

• protect you and your child from many serious and potentially deadly diseases
• protect other people in your community – by helping to stop diseases spreading to people who cannot have vaccines

• get safety tested for years before being introduced – they're also monitored for any side effects
• sometimes cause mild side effects that will not last long – some children may feel a bit unwell and have a sore arm for 2 or 3 days
• reduce or even get rid of some diseases – if enough people are vaccinated

‍Don't

• ‍do not cause autism – studies have found no evidence of a link between the MMR vaccine and autism
• do not overload or weaken the immune system – it's safe to give children several vaccines at a time and this reduces the amount of injections they need
• do not cause allergies or any other conditions – all the current evidence tells us that vaccinating is safer than not vaccinating
• do not contain mercury (thiomersal)
• do not contain any ingredients that cause harm in such small amounts – but speak to your doctor if you have any known allergies such as eggs or gelatine

Why vaccines are important

Vaccination is the most important thing we can do to protect ourselves and our children against ill health. They prevent up to 3 million deaths worldwide every year.

Since vaccines were introduced in the UK, diseases like smallpox, polio and tetanus that used to kill or disable millions of people are either gone or seen very rarely.

Other diseases like measles and diphtheria have been reduced by up to 99.9% since their vaccines were introduced.

However, if people stop having vaccines, it's possible for infectious diseases to quickly spread again.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently listed vaccine hesitancy as one of their top 10 biggest threats to global health.

Vaccine hesitancy is where people with access to vaccines delay or refuse vaccination.

Herd immunity

Having a vaccine also benefits your whole community through "herd immunity".

If enough people are vaccinated, it's harder for the disease to spread to those people who cannot have vaccines. For example, people who are ill or have a weakened immune system.

Why vaccines are safe

All vaccines are thoroughly tested to make sure they will not harm you or your child.

It often takes many years for a vaccine to make it through the trials and tests it needs to pass for approval.

Side effects of vaccination

Most of the side effects of vaccination are mild and do not last long.

The most common side effects of vaccination include:

• the area where the needle goes in looking red, swollen and feeling a bit sore for 2 to 3 days
• babies or young children feeling a bit unwell or developing a high temperature for 1 or 2 days

Some children might also cry and be upset immediately after the injection. This is normal and they should feel better after a cuddle.

Vaccination
Herd immunity
Side effects
Clinical Trials
Milestone

‍Vacunación

AInmunidad colectiva
Efectos secundarios
Ensayos clínicos
Hito, acontecimiento

As safe as houses
Better safe than sorry

Safe and sound

Be a safe bet

‍very safe

said when you think it is best not to take risks even when it seems boring or difficult to be careful

completely safe and without injury or damage

to be something that you are certain will happen