Dr Anthony Fauci, a senior infectious disease official for the US government, co-authored a paper which says more than one vaccine will be needed in order to protect the entire global community. This is due to an “unprecedented” need to produce and distribute a vaccine to immunise a large number of people, in addition to the fact that the pandemic is so geographically diverse.
The paper states: “The global need for vaccine [sic] and the wide geographic diversity of the pandemic require more than one effective vaccine approach.
“The full development pathway for an effective vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 will require that industry, government, and academia collaborate in unprecedented ways, each adding their individual strengths.
“No single vaccine or vaccine platform alone is likely to meet the global need, and so a strategic approach to the multi-pronged endeavour is absolutely critical.
Dr Fauci co-authored the paper alongside Dr Larrey Corey from the Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center, as well as John R Mascola from the University of Washington and other colleagues from the National Institutes of Health.
It was published in the journal Science yesterday.
Scientists currently “know little” about what a protective immune response against Covid-19 would look like, the paper states.
It notes that studies from patients show that there are “relatively high levels” of immune responses following infection, particularly regarding antibody responses to the infamous ‘spike’ protein.
But ‘in vivo’ data on the type of immunity that would be required to protect against re-infection of the virus – or how long such protection would last – is not currently known.
But despite the race to get a vaccine ready as soon as possible, the paper highlights the importance of making sure that a vaccine is safe.
This is important, because “the likelihood of SARS-CoV-2 reexposure is much higher than that of SARS-CoV-1,” the report claims.
SARS-CoV-2 is the scientific name given to coronavirus, or Covid-19. SARS-CoV-1 refers to the SARS virus, or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, which was discovered in 2003.
The paper concludes with a call for global co-operation on vaccine development and distribution.
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It states: “The ability to manufacture hundreds of millions to billions of doses of vaccine requires the vaccine-manufacturing capacity of the entire world.”
Co-author Dr Larrey Corey said in a press release: “We’re experiencing a series of unprecedented events with a disease that has spread globally and infected more people in a shorter time than any other infection in modern times.
“We want to see multiple successful vaccines and vaccine platforms meet the global need of immunising billions of adults, children and restoring economic and health [sic] to the world.”
Meanwhile, Dr Fauci reportedly began self-quarantining last Sunday following positive Covid-19 tests among White House staff.
This involves the virus expert working from home, since he had “low risk” contact with a White House employee known to have tested positive for the virus, the Guardian reports.
And two other high-profile US medical officials have also gone into isolation.
They are Dr Stephen Hahn, US Food and Drug Administration commissioner, and Dr Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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