General Discussion/Q&A on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

[RooFlyer]

Thanks drron - I had heard about that - called the 'Manhattan project' of our time. Possibly an unfortunate choice of analogy, but it showed what was possible if you really put the national shoulder to the wheel. I have no problem in a nation who develops a vaccine first, prioritising its own people for the first zillion doses. But one would hope that they would 'licence' the technology to anyone that asks - if not give it away. Would the Chinese allow the Taiwanese to use a vaccine they created, I wonder?

The reason I was asking about eggs was whether Australia could be a mass manufacturer (ie have systems already in place). Which makes me have to ask ... I assume we manufacture our own flu vaccine? or does CSL etc make it offshore?

 

[TheRealTMA]

Not necessarily as several new types of vaccine are being trialled.eggs are for a live virus vaccine in general.
If a vaccine does become available in a shorter time frame it is likely to come from the USA or possibly Europe.
Why? Well they are the 2 areas which still have a lot of active cases so would be quicker to get enough experience with the vaccine.That was the probl;em with the SARs vaccine.By the time they were ready to test in humans there were hardly any cases.

And most have now heard about project Time warp.It has however been in planning for a month or so.

Science | AAAS

www.sciencemag.org

"Warp Speed has already narrowed its list of vaccine candidates to 14 and plans to push ahead with eight, the official says. “The idea for us is to pick a diversified portfolio” of vaccines made with different technologies, or platforms. Organizers were concerned that other government vaccine investment has been “heavily weighted” toward just two candidates: one made with messenger RNA encoding the coronavirus surface “spike” protein and the other using a cold-causing adenovirus to deliver the same protein’s gene. Neither technology, the official notes, has yet led to approved vaccines for any disease.


The official declined to identify Warp Speed’s vaccine candidates, but he stressed two key criteria: safety and the potential to make hundreds of millions of doses quickly. “We don’t have time to debug manufacturing issues here,” he says. By July, Warp Speed hopes to have its eight lead candidates in human trials. At the same time, it will fund a large-scale comparison of their safety and efficacy in hamsters and monkeys to help winnow down that group. “If something’s really bad, we’ll get rid of it,” he says."

Good luck to them but it could just be more wishful thinking since the White House haven’t done very well so far. Moncep Slaoui, a former chairman of vaccines at GlaxoSmithKline who will lead the multibillion-dollar program, expressed optimism that progress is being made.

“I have very recently seen early data from a clinical trial with a coronavirus vaccine,” he said. “These data made me feel even more confident that we will be able to deliver a few hundred million doses of a vaccine by the end of 2020.”
However, consensus does seem to be indicating the a vaccine by end of 2020 will be most unlikely. But who knows.

The Oxford group and are also testing a potential candidate on ferrets at CSIRO in Melbourne. CSIRO tests potential Covid-19 vaccines on ferrets - InDaily

And I thought I read the UQ QMIR Berghopher were well advanced.

It will be hilarious if China come up with a vaccine first.

And the Manhattan project took some four years with the first bomb never actually tested until Hiroshima.

 

[RooFlyer]

And the Manhattan project took some four years with the first bomb never actually tested until Hiroshima.

True, but they were doing something never done before, in any context, and had to build massive infrastructure from scratch let alone overcome some theoretical hurdles like whether a bomb would set the atmosphere alight. I just found this, which is a good, short read that you might like:

Bethe, Teller, Trinity and the End of Earth

A leader of the Manhattan Project recalls a discussion of whether the Trinity test would ignite Earth's atmosphere and destroy the planet

blogs.scientificamerican.com

Richard Rhodes' "Dark Sun: the making of the hydrogen bomb " was one of the best non-fiction books I ever read.

Trove

Australia’s free online research portal. Trove is a collaboration between the National Library of Australia and hundreds of Partner organisations around Australia.

trove.nla.gov.au

 

[TheRealTMA]

True, but they were doing something never done before, in any context, and had to build massive infrastructure from scratch let alone overcome some theoretical hurdles like whether a bomb would set the atmosphere alight. I just found this, which is a good, short read:

Bethe, Teller, Trinity and the End of Earth

A leader of the Manhattan Project recalls a discussion of whether the Trinity test would ignite Earth's atmosphere and destroy the planet

blogs.scientificamerican.com

Richard Rhodes' "Dark Sun: the making of the hydrogen bomb " was one of the best non-fiction books I ever read.

Trove

Australia’s free online research portal. Trove is a collaboration between the National Library of Australia and hundreds of Partner organisations around Australia.

trove.nla.gov.au

Interesting. But the first bomb was just a simple “bang the enriched uranium together guys“ one. Never actually tested before dropped.

The plutonium “fat man” was something different. Fat Man and Little Boy - Wikipedia

There’s many hours of entertaining reading in the history and construction of nuclear devices including the tests in the Pacific and the complete lack of understanding by the US Navy at the time of the Able (I think) test. There’s a few good documentaries floating around as well.

All fascinating.


Is that U235 in you pocket or are you just pleased to see me.

 

[RooFlyer]

Los Alamos museum?

 

[TheRealTMA]

Los Alamos museum?

Imperial War Museum London. They assured me it was the original!

 

[Pushka]

I just heard Qld Premier discussing mandatory Covid tests on The Project.

She really doesn’t understand what the tests are showing does she? She stated that people without symptoms would test negative even if they actually had Covid? Even Carrie picked that up but well, they didn’t want to prove the point too much. Unfortunately.

 

[Pushka]

It really shows why Premiers shouldn’t discuss things they know nothing about. Which I guess renders most speechless. She looked very silly.

 

[TheRealTMA]

I think she has done quite well in the circumstances.

 

[tgh]

I think she has done quite well in the circumstances

I agree (surprise surprise ).. she has shaddup, supported the national initiatives and refrained from politicking.
The same should also be said for the left feds , who have also demonstrated national care over ideology.
Who woulda thunk they had it in them...

 

[drron]

The Oxford group trying to develop a vaccine are in with a chance as they still have a lot of active cases so easier to get a result.Unfortunately for the researchers in Australia they will not have enough active Covid patients for the human trials to be decisive unless they get their vaccine into human trials overseas.

 

[Pushka]

The Oxford group trying to develop a vaccine are in with a chance as they still have a lot of active cases so easier to get a result.Unfortunately for the researchers in Australia they will not have enough active Covid patients for the human trials to be decisive unless they get their vaccine into human trials overseas.

Agree. Any IP developed in Australia has to go overseas to trial. Including the TB trial in Adelaide and a hydroxychloroquine trial around Australia. Bittersweet I guess.

 

[Pushka]

Heard just now that a colleagues father has just passed away in UK from Covid19. I don't think she will be able to travel to his funeral. She has a child. Bloody virus.

 

[drron]

Some new treatments being undertaken for Covid.

Welcome to Precision Vaccinations News

Precision Vaccinations News publishes vaccine news patients can trust to make informed immunization decisions in partnership with doctors, nurses, and pharmacists.

www.coronavirustoday.com

Japan Fast-Tracking Avigan To Market

But watch out for your cat.

Welcome to Precision Vaccinations News

Precision Vaccinations News publishes vaccine news patients can trust to make informed immunization decisions in partnership with doctors, nurses, and pharmacists.

www.coronavirustoday.com

Avian Influenza A(H7N2) Virus in Human Exposed to Sick Cats, New York, USA, 2016

Avian Influenza A(H7N2) Virus in Human, New York

wwwnc.cdc.gov

 

[TheRealTMA]

But watch out for your cat.

Welcome to Precision Vaccinations News

Precision Vaccinations News publishes vaccine news patients can trust to make informed immunization decisions in partnership with doctors, nurses, and pharmacists.

www.coronavirustoday.com

How can one survive lockdown without a cat!!

 

[lovetravellingoz]

The Oxford group trying to develop a vaccine are in with a chance as they still have a lot of active cases so easier to get a result. Unfortunately for the researchers in Australia they will not have enough active Covid patients for the human trials to be decisive unless they get their vaccine into human trials overseas.

This is not a barrier as Australian researchers are already involved in human trials overseas. There is much international cooperation.

ie The Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI) in Melbourne, is expanding their trial from 2,500 people in Australia, to over 10,000 frontline workers in Spain and the Netherlands.

 

[oz_mark]

But watch out for your cat.

Welcome to Precision Vaccinations News

Precision Vaccinations News publishes vaccine news patients can trust to make informed immunization decisions in partnership with doctors, nurses, and pharmacists.

www.coronavirustoday.com

Avian Influenza A(H7N2) Virus in Human Exposed to Sick Cats, New York, USA, 2016

Avian Influenza A(H7N2) Virus in Human, New York

wwwnc.cdc.gov

Vets have been on alert for a little while

4.4.20 - AVA update regarding COVID-19 and cats

4.4.20 - AVA update regarding COVID-19 and cats

www.ava.com.au

 

[TheRealTMA]

The Oxford group trying to develop a vaccine are in with a chance as they still have a lot of active cases so easier to get a result.Unfortunately for the researchers in Australia they will not have enough active Covid patients for the human trials to be decisive unless they get their vaccine into human trials overseas.

Hmm. Not looking good.

Doubts over Oxford vaccine as it fails to stop coronavirus in animal trials

Experts warn that vaccine may only be 'partially effective' after results of a trial in rhesus macaque monkeys

www.telegraph.co.uk

 

[blackcat20]

Heard on the radio this morning that there is a trial that is showing signs of success (ie antibodies in the human participants).

 

[Pushka]

Heard on the radio this morning that there is a trial that is showing signs of success (ie antibodies in the human participants).

Was that the US one? I read something similar today too. We need some hope.