United Kingdom

WHO says vaccine safety top priority, as AstraZeneca pauses study

Wed, 2020-09-09 09:49 — mike kraft

ZURICH/GENEVA (Reuters) - Safety of a prospective COVID-19 vaccine comes "first and foremost", the World Health Organization's chief scientist said on Wednesday, as a trial of a leading candidate from AstraZeneca was paused due to concerns over side effects.

Rollout of an effective vaccine is seen as a crucial step in helping battered economies recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

"Just because we talk about speed...it doesn't mean we start compromising or cutting corners on what would normally be assessed," Dr. Soumya Swaminathan said in a social media event.

"The process still has to follow through rules of the game. For drugs and vaccines which are given to people, you have to test their safety, first and foremost," she said.

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Situation Report

Read more about WHO says vaccine safety top priority, as AstraZeneca pauses study
Log in or register to post comments

Operation Warp Speed promised to do the impossible. How far has it come?

Tue, 2020-09-08 18:48 — mike kraft

Operation Warp Speed pledged to do the impossible. How far has it come? With billions of federal dollars already spent on the effort, it’s possible to take stock of the initiative’s progress, or lack thereof. Helen Branswell STAT

It’s called Operation Warp Speed. And — regardless of one’s politics, one’s level of concern about Covid-19, or one’s views of therapeutics and vaccines — it inarguably ranks as one of the most ambitious scientific endeavors in modern U.S. history.

Is it working?

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Situation Report

Read more about Operation Warp Speed promised to do the impossible. How far has it come?
Log in or register to post comments

AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine study put on hold due to suspected adverse reaction in participant in the U.K.

Tue, 2020-09-08 18:13 — mike kraft

AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine study is put on hold The large, Phase 3 study testing the vaccine has been put on hold due to a suspected serious adverse reaction in a participant in the U.K. Rebecca Robbins STAT

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Problem

Situation Report

How the Aging Immune System Makes Older People Vulnerable to Covid-19

Tue, 2020-09-08 11:56 — mike kraft

Covid-19 patients who are 80 or older are hundreds of times more likely to die than those under 40.

That’s partly because they are more likely to have underlying conditions — like diabetes and lung disease — that seem to make the body more vulnerable to Covid-19.

But some scientists suggest another likely, if underappreciated, driver of this increased risk: the aging immune system.

The changes that ripple through our network of immune cells as the decades pass are complex, resulting in an overreaction here, a delayed response there and over all, a strangely altered landscape of immunity.

Scientists who study the aging immune system say that understanding it may lead not only to a clearer sense of how age is connected to disease vulnerability, but to better strategies for vaccines and treatments for Covid-19.

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Analysis

Problem

Read more about How the Aging Immune System Makes Older People Vulnerable to Covid-19
Log in or register to post comments

Covid patients have lung damage 'weeks after leaving hospital'

Tue, 2020-09-08 10:44 — mike kraft

Covid patients have lung damage 'weeks after leaving hospital' Austrian research shows how recovery can be slow process for those with severe infection Nicola Davis the Guardian

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Problem

Situation Report

Read more about Covid patients have lung damage 'weeks after leaving hospital'
Log in or register to post comments

Drugmakers Pledge to Avoid Safety Shortcuts on Covid Vaccine - Bloomberg

Tue, 2020-09-08 09:02 — mdmcdonald

USRS NYRS NCRRS FLRSs CARS

4 cover

COVID-19 Vaccine Drug Safety

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-08/drugmakers-join-to-pledge-no-safety-shortcuts-for-covid-vaccine

Drugmakers Pledge to Avoid Safety Shortcuts on Covid Vaccine

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Situation Report

Read more about Drugmakers Pledge to Avoid Safety Shortcuts on Covid Vaccine - Bloomberg
2 comments
Log in or register to post comments

WHO new graphics on the world wide spread of COVID-19

Mon, 2020-09-07 19:01 — mike kraft

Editors Note: Click on the word graphics for a link to the illustrations.

-0-

New graphics from the World Health Organization illustrate how much worse the coronavirus pandemic is in the Americas compared to other regions of the world.

The US has more cases and more deaths than any other country, with Brazil coming in for a close second.

New graphics from the World Health Organization illustrate how much worse the coronavirus pandemic is in the Americas compared to other regions of the world.

Country / Region Tags: