Very interesting article. Part of it below -
Roughly 80 percent: The
amount of genetic overlap between SARS and SARS-CoV-2, the official name of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
This is important — and encouraging — because the first step in developing a successful vaccine is identifying one that’s potentially effective. Unusually, scientists at Oxford’s
Jenner Institute have already done that, with the advantage of a head start. By the time news broke in January that Chinese scientists had identified the genetic code of a mysterious virus in Wuhan, the Oxford team was already developing a vaccine against a similar coronavirus (Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS) and proving its safety. It immediately switched over to SARS-CoV-2.
Six: The number of rhesus macaque monkeys inoculated with single doses of the Oxford vaccine in March at the National Institutes of Health’s
Rocky Mountain Laboratory. The first step in a conventional trial is to test a vaccine on animals to see if it works. In Montana, all six of the monkeys were exposed to heavy quantities of SARS-CoV-2 — exposure that had “consistently sickened other monkeys in the lab.”
Six: The number of inoculated rhesus macaque monkeys that were still healthy more than 28 days later.
Three: The number of phases required for a conventional clinical trial.
Phase I tests for safety by giving a small group of healthy volunteers different dosages; the goal is to create the strongest immune response at the lowest effective dose — without serious side effects.
Phase II tests that dosage on a larger group of volunteers — typically hundreds of people of various ages and levels of health — to make sure they develop the proper antibodies.
Phase III pits the vaccine against a placebo by giving both to thousands of volunteers, who then go about their daily lives. If after a long time the vaccinated group turns out to be less likely to get sick than the placebo group (in a statistically significant way), the vaccine is deemed effective. Licensing and production follow.
Again, this process has never taken less than four years from start to finish.
1,100: The number of volunteers participating in Oxford’s phase I clinical trial, which began last week. “Armed with safety data from their human trials of similar vaccines for Ebola, MERS and malaria,”
reported the New York Times, “scientists at Oxford’s institute persuaded British regulators to allow unusually accelerated trials while the epidemic is still hot around them.” This trial should determine whether the fast-tracked vaccine will trigger serious problems or side effects.
(outside weather permitting) and I skip my daily X2 cleaning /disinfecting routine on saturdays. I scrub extra on Friday night since DH grocery shops that evening It’s risk taking I guess. But I need one day to Not clean ANYTHING
I'm glad you have such a great garden and fruit trees. Super jealous of the fruit! Take a hot bath....turn off the news.... take an Advil PM.. it sounds hokey, but tomorrow will be a better day.
