Wuhan Virus Watch: Phase Three of Vaccine Trial Could Begin Early Summer

Wuhan Virus Watch: Phase Three of Vaccine Trial Could Begin Early Summer

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave Moderna permission to move to phase two “shortly,” which means the crucial phase three can begin in early summer:

On Thursday, Moderna announced that the Food and Drug Administration had cleared its application to proceed to a clinical trial involving about 600 people.

“The imminent Phase 2 study start is a crucial step forward,” Stéphane Bancel, Moderna’s chief executive, said in a statement.

The main goal of this set of tests is to find out if the vaccine is safe and if positive results from the first few dozen volunteers in the first phase can be replicated in a much larger group. If it is successful, later studies, known as Phase 3 trials, will determine exactly how well the vaccine works.

The mRNA-1273 vaccine “relies on genetic material known as messenger RNA, which carries the recipe for making proteins to tiny ribosome chefs inside cells.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci said it could take 12 to 18 months until “a vaccine to be widely available to the public.”

Study: Those Recovered From Virus ‘Eventually Produce Antibodies’

A brand new study revealed that those who recovered from the coronavirus “eventually produce antibodies to the virus.” This means they might not get the virus again:

Researchers in China tested the blood of 285 patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19 illness and found that all had developed antibodies within two to three weeks of their first symptoms.

Antibodies are blood proteins produced by the immune system to fight viruses and may prevent future infections.

The study, which was published in the Nature Medicine journal by researchers at Chongquin Medical University, “brings much-needed clarity, along with renewed enthusiasm” to efforts to develop and implement widescale antibody testing, National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins wrote Thursday in a blog post.

“Although more follow-up work is needed to determine just how protective these antibodies are and for how long, these findings suggest that the immune systems of people who survive COVID-19 have been primed to recognize SARS-CoV-2 and possibly thwart a second infection,” he wrote, using the technical name for the specific coronavirus causing the disease.

Trump’s Personal Valet Tests Positive for Coronavirus

President Donald Trump already tested negative twice for the virus. But now he may get tested againget tested again:

The valets are members of an elite military unit dedicated to the White House and often work very close to the President and first family. Trump was upset when he was informed Wednesday that the valet had tested positive, a source told CNN, and the President was subsequently tested again by the White House physician.

In a statement, the White House confirmed CNN’s reporting that one of the President’s staffers had tested positive.

“We were recently notified by the White House Medical Unit that a member of the United States Military, who works on the White House campus, has tested positive for Coronavirus,” deputy White House press secretary Hogan Gidley said in a statement. “The President and the Vice President have since tested negative for the virus and they remain in great health.”

Valets assist the President and first family with a variety of personal tasks. They are responsible for the President’s food and beverage not only in the West Wing but also travel with him when he’s on the road or out of the country. Past presidents have relied on them not only for these matters, but also as confidants. The valets have an inside view to a president’s personal life like few others.

A White House source said the valet, a man who has not been identified, exhibited “symptoms” Wednesday morning, and said the news that someone close to Trump had tested positive for coronavirus was “hitting the fan” in the West Wing.

Coronavirus ‘Perplexing Doctors’ With the Way it ‘Hijacks the Body From Head to Toe’

Most think of the coronavirus as a respiratory infection, but doctors have had patients with symptoms “from head to toe.”

One patient, 67-year-old Garvon Russell, had inflamed lungs, kidney failure, and a blood clot in a vein in his leg:

As the number of Covid-19 patients grows, doctors are learning its damage can extend well beyond the lungs, where infection can lead to pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome, the sometimes fatal condition Mr. Russell had. The disease can also affect the brain, kidneys, heart, vascular and digestive system. Some patients have sudden strokes, pulmonary embolisms or heart-attack symptoms. Others have kidney failure or inflammation of the gut.

Infection can affect the nervous system, causing seizures, hallucinations or a loss of smell and taste. It may affect pregnancies, though the science is nascent: The placenta of a patient who miscarried during her second trimester tested positive for the virus and showed signs of inflammation, according to a paper published April 30 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The virus’s strange effects go beyond anything doctors say they usually see with other viral infections. “It seems to strike so many systems,” said Maya Rao, a nephrologist at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York who is treating Covid-19 patients with acute kidney failure. “We don’t understand who gets it.”

[Featured image via YouTube]

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