Re: Covid 19 -
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As the vaccine race is entering the home straight I thought i would put up something to identify the front runners and monitor their progress. I'll add to this as the race progresses. Feel free to add if you wish.
Here's the leaders
AZD 1222 Developed by Oxford University/ Astrazeneca, currently in Stage 3 trials in multiple sites worldwide and already in mass production in India. Expected delivery date late Oct. This vaccine is manufactured using a modified Adinovirus, conventional tech used with many other vaccines.
MRNA 1273 Moderna/NIH, At a similar stage to the Oxford one but mass production may not be at the same level. Expected delivery date is Nov/Dec. This vaccine uses the new RNA technology
BNT 162B2 Biontech/Pfizer/Fosun Another vaccine well into its Stage 3 trials. based on RNA tech and committed to a Dec delivery.
All the above require two shots approx four weeks apart.
The next two, Russian and Chinese products, skipped Stage 3 trials which are normally needed to get regulatory approval and went straight to wider distribution
Gamaleya/Sputnik 5 This is the one Putin's daughter got, a conventional vaccine based on the Adinovirus. Wider distribution in Russia starts this week.
Sinovac This is the main Chinese product although I think they actually have two at the same stage. They started vaccinating their military some time ago.
Uni of Qld/ CSL Not up with the leaders but still in contention. Another RNA based vaccine with CSL gearing up to manufacture in Australia.
Merck Trailing the field, not even at stage 1 trials yet but worth a mention as they have an oral vaccine in development; good news for those who don't like jabs.
Mass production is the big question. Very few places have the capacity to take on the manufacture of billions of doses of these vaccines. India is one of the places where large numbers of vaccines are already produced and has started to produce the Oxford vaccine in large quantity. I imagine the political pressure to have something ready before Nov 3 is intense; if somehow it goes badly well it won't matter because the election will be over by then.
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