全球领先疫苗，39支疫苗进入3期实验，10月13日，德国法国放弃两款mRNA疫苗，转为研发新一代疫苗和加强剂。中国两款疫苗进入第三期试验。

[lindamy]

New additions and recent updates
Dec. 30	Britain authorizes the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for emergency use.
Dec. 30	Sinopharm announces an efficacy rate of 79 percent.
Dec. 28	Novavax begins a Phase 3 trial in the United States.
Dec. 27	Kazakhstan moves to Phase 3.
Dec. 24	Iran enters Phase 1.
Dec. 23	Canada approves the Moderna vaccine.
Dec. 22	Maryland-based Altimmune enters Phase 1.
Dec. 21	The European Union authorizes the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Dec. 19	Kazakhstan moves to Phase 2.
Dec. 18	The F.D.A. authorizes Moderna’s vaccine for emergency use.

 

[向问天]

12月31日，国务院联防联控机制发布，国药集团中国生物新冠灭活疫苗已获得国家药监局批准附条件上市。


已有数据显示，保护率为79.34%，实现安全性、有效性、可及性、可负担性的统一，达到世界卫生组织及国家药监局相关标准要求。

后续，疫苗免疫的持久性和保护效果还需持续观察。

这一成果来之不易，中国疫苗上市为全球战胜疫情注入信心，也为疫苗成为全球公共产品提供有力支撑。

¹ÙÐû:Öйú¹úҩйÚÃð»îÒßÃçÒÑ»ñÅúÉÏÊÐ--Íòά¶ÁÕßÍø

12ÔÂ31ÈÕ£¬¹úÎñÔºÁª·ÀÁª¿Ø»úÖÆ·¢²¼£¬¹úÒ©¼¯ÍÅÖйúÉúÎïйÚÃð»îÒßÃçÒÑ»ñµÃ¹ú¼ÒÒ©¼à¾ÖÅú×¼¸½Ìõ¼þÉÏÊС£ÒÑÓÐÊý¾ÝÏÔʾ£¬±£»¤ÂÊΪ79.34%£¬ÊµÏÖ°²È«ÐÔ¡¢ÓÐЧÐÔ¡¢¿É¼°ÐÔ¡¢¿É¸ºµ£ÐÔµÄͳһ£¬´ïµ½ÊÀ½çÎÀÉú×éÖ¯¼°¹ú¼ÒÒ©¼à¾ÖÏà¹Ø±ê×¼ÒªÇ󡣺óÐø£¬ÒßÃçÃâÒߵij־ÃÐԺͱ£»¤

news.creaders.net

 

[lindamy]

Coronavirus Vaccines - An Introduction​

Leading COVID-19 vaccine candidates rely on new technologies that have fast-tracked development and testing. Vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna have completed early phase 3 clinical trials and are reportedly under review at the US FDA for emergency use authorization (EUA) although safety surveillance continues. This video explains the principles underlying the leading DNA, messenger RNA (mRNA), and viral vector vaccine candidates, and how they might induce immunity to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

0:00 Introduction
1:21 Traditional vaccines
2:00 COVID-19 vaccine types in development
2:18 Making vaccines from a genetic sequence
2:45 Target antigen: the S protein
3:32 Genetic vaccines (DNA and mRNA)
4:18 Moderna/NIH and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines
4:52 Viral vector vaccines
5:42 Adenovirus vectors (University of Oxford/AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson/Janssen Pharmaceuticals)
6:32 rVSV vector vaccine (Merck/IAVI)
7:15 Previous experience with next generation vaccines
7:50 Importance of Phase 3 Trials

For full livestreams featured in this video:
Anthony S. Fauci, MD, January 27, 2020: https://youtu.be/3qlagdc_luM
Paul A. Offit, MD, June 1, 2020: https://youtu.be/2DUiBlj5rsQ
Robert Redfield, MD, July 14, 2020: https://youtu.be/jzHIhSZ_fiA

 

[lindamy]

牛津/阿斯利康新冠疫苗在两剂注射间隔三个月时 有效率可达80%--英国官员​

路透新闻部
1 分钟阅读

路透伦敦12月30日 - 据一位参与英国疫苗审批的官员称，牛津/阿斯利康的新冠疫苗在两剂注射间隔三个月的情况下，有效率可以达到80%，但并没有足够的证据支持一种注射一剂的接种方式。

人用药品委员会新冠疫苗专家工作组负责人Munir Pirmohamed周三表示：“接种第一剂和第二剂相隔三个月的时候，有效性很高，高达80%，这就是我们建议授权的原因。”

他在英国药品和保健品管理局(MHRA)宣布其决定的新闻发布会上表示：“我们还对已经被广泛宣传的注射一剂的接种方式进行了研究，但我们觉得结果并未得到全面分析的支持。”

另有一位参与疫苗审批的英国医生表示，该疫苗在接种第一剂21天后、在接种第二剂之前，有效率约为70%。

疫苗接种和免疫联合委员会新冠免疫部门负责人Wei Shen Lim表示，“分享给我们的数据，我不确定这些数据是否属于完全公开信息，计算了从接种第一剂疫苗后第22天到接种第二剂之间的有效率，这个数字大约是70%。”(完)

编译 高思佳；审校 母红

Reuters | Breaking International News & Views

Find latest news from every corner of the globe at Reuters.com, your online source for breaking international news coverage.

cn.reuters.com

 

[lindamy]

New additions and recent updates

Jan. 3 India’s Zydus Cadila moves to Phase 3. Jan. 3 India authorizes a vaccine from Bharat Biotech. Jan. 3 India and Argentina authorize the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

印度和阿根廷批准牛津疫苗。
印度批准印度Bharat Biotech疫苗。
印度Zydus Cadila疫苗进入第三期试验，4周3次使用的皮肤贴剂，在室温下保存，稳定3个月。

PHASE 3

VACCINE NAME: ZyCoV-D
EFFICACY: Unknown
DOSE: 3 doses, 4 weeks apart
TYPE: Skin injection
STORAGE: Stable at room temperature for three months

In July, the Indian vaccine-maker Zydus Cadila began testing a DNA-based vaccine delivered by a skin patch. They launched a Phase 2 trial on ZyCoV-D on Aug. 6 and announced at the end of December that it was complete. On Jan. 3 the Indian government gave Zydus Cadila permission to advance to a Phase 3 trial with 30,000 volunteers. In a Dec. 11 interview, company's chairman Pankaj Patel, the company’s chairman, said the company expects to have their vaccine ready for distribution by March 2021.

Updated Jan. 3

PHASE 3 EMERGENCY USE IN INDIA

VACCINE NAME: Covaxin (also known as BBV152 A, B, C)
EFFICACY: Unknown
DOSE: 2 doses, 3 weeks apart
STORAGE: At least a week at room temperature

In collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research and the National Institute of Virology, the Indian company Bharat Biotech designed Covaxin, a vaccine based on an inactivated form of the coronavirus. Studies on monkeys and hamsters found that it provided protection against infection. In June, Covaxin became the first coronavirus vaccine created in India to go into clinical trials.

The phase 1/2 trial showed that the vaccine didn’t cause any serious side effects while producing antibodies to the coronavirus. On Oct. 23, the company announced they were initiating a Phase 3 trial. On Dec. 22, the company announced a partnership with Pennsylvania-based Ocugen to develop Covaxin for the United States market.

On Jan. 3, the Indian government granted Covaxin emergency authorization. The authorization came despite no release of Phase 3 data showing the vaccine is safe and effective.

Updated Jan. 3

 

[lindamy]

Chinese vaccine 78% effective in Brazil tests: officials​

Issued on: 07/01/2021 - 21:02Modified: 07/01/2021 - 21:00

Sao Paulo Governor Joao Doria shows a package of the CoronaVac vaccine -- the Butantan Institute announced it had an effectiveness of 78% against Covid-19 NELSON ALMEIDA AFP
2 min

Sao Paulo (AFP)
Chinese-developed Covid-19 vaccine CoronaVac showed at least 78-percent effectiveness in final-stage clinical trials in Brazil, officials announced Thursday, saying they would apply for emergency approval from the Brazilian regulatory agency to begin a vaccination campaign.

"This is a historic day, a day of hope," Sao Paulo state Governor Joao Doria told a news conference announcing the results.

He said his state's vaccination campaign would begin on January 25, though that will require approval from federal regulatory agency Anvisa.

The Butantan Institute, Sao Paulo's leading public health center, said it would apply for emergency approval by Friday.

The vaccine, developed by Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac, showed effectiveness of 78 percent in Phase 3 testing on 13,000 volunteers in the Brazilian study, officials said.

And no one who received it developed a severe case of Covid-19, Doria added.

Turkey, which also helped carry out Phase 3 tests of CoronaVac, said last month the vaccine had shown effectiveness of 91.25 percent in its trials.

Sinovac has not yet released worldwide results from the tests, which are also being carried out in Chile and Indonesia.

The company has faced criticism for not supplying full data sooner.

The efficacy rate reported by Brazil for CoronaVac is well below the 95 percent reported for the vaccines from US pharmaceutical firms Pfizer and Moderna.

However, CoronaVac is easier to deploy because it does not have to be stored at extremely low temperatures.

Brazil has the second-highest death toll in the pandemic, after the United States, with nearly 200,000 people killed.

CoronaVac has been caught up in a political battle between Doria and President Jair Bolsonaro, likely opponents in Brazil's 2022 presidential election.

Doria pushed for a deal to test and produce the vaccine in Brazil. But Bolsonaro, who says he does not plan to be vaccinated himself, has derided it as "Joao Doria's Chinese vaccine."

© 2021 AFP

Chinese vaccine 78% effective in Brazil tests: officials - RFI

Chinese vaccine 78% effective in Brazil tests: officials

www.rfi.fr

 

[lindamy]

巴西称中国科兴疫苗有效率为78%​

黄瑞黎, ERNESTO LONDOÑO2021年1月8日

在北京等待接受新冠病毒检测的民众。中国已经着眼于向发展中国家提供这种病毒的疫苗。 NOEL CELIS/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE — GETTY IMAGES

巴西官员周四表示，一家中国公司生产的新冠病毒疫苗是有效的，这增加了第二种中国疫苗获批的机会，它可能会在很多发展中国家推广。

圣保罗州的官员表示，该疫苗的有效率为78%。该州一家著名医学研究机构对这种由北京科兴生物制造的疫苗进行了大规模研究。

官员们说，该疫苗预防了所有参与者出现因该病毒产生的重症和轻症，并称其为一种非常有效的预防工具。

随着各国准备开展大规模接种运动，预计将获批的新冠病毒疫苗CoronaVac已经运往世界各地。根据对公司声明和媒体报道的分析，科兴已售出3亿多支疫苗，主要销往中低收入国家，占中国所称疫苗制造商2020年产能总量的一半左右。

中国已着眼于向发展中国家提供新冠疫苗，在经历了疫情暴发初期的失败后，此举旨在推动中国成为卫生外交的领导者。它还希望成为全球疫苗业务的主要参与者，从而提升自己在科学领域的声誉。

即使监管部门尚未批准，中国已经开始在国内积极开展疫苗接种运动，目标是到下个月中旬让5000万人接种疫苗。北京还制定了海外出口分销计划，指示航空公司储备冰箱和干冰。

在巴西圣保罗的布坦坦研究所，科兴的新冠病毒疫苗装配线。 AMANDA PEROBELLI/REUTERS

中国正在填补西方竞争对手给贫穷国家留下的空白。美国目前主要致力于解决国内疫苗分发的混乱局面。欧盟和其他富裕国家采购了大量由美国制药商辉瑞(Pfizer)和莫德纳(Moderna)提供的疫苗。

“中国一直急于走在前面，他们意识到这个缺口，也意识到西方政府会囤积和预购数十亿剂疫苗，让其他国家陷于困境，”战略与国际研究中心全球卫生政策中心主任J·史蒂芬·莫里森(J. Stephen Morrison)说。

“这将成为他们外交联盟中的一种工具，将使他们在选择使用这些工具的国家中获得一定程度的威望和地位，”他还说。

与美国制造商不同，中国疫苗制造商几乎从一开始就必须考虑全球问题。它们只能到国外测试其疫苗的有效性，因为疫情在中国已基本被扑灭。

近几个月来，中国企业已与至少15个国家和地区签署协议，提供及早接种疫苗的机会。他们的疫苗已在阿拉伯联合酋长国和巴林获准紧急使用。

他们的许多早期客户是在后期阶段，也就是三期试验阶段中合作的政府。巴西现有约1080万剂疫苗，并打算开始在当地生产，印度尼西亚和土耳其都收到了科兴的疫苗。科兴表示，今年有能力生产6亿剂疫苗。

这些交易可以帮助疫苗制造商摆脱该行业在一系列质量和腐败丑闻后受到玷污的声誉。几十年来，中国疫苗制造商只专注于服务国内市场。只有五种中国疫苗获得世界卫生组织的出口预批准——其中一种是中国科兴生产的甲型肝炎疫苗。

正在进行科兴疫苗试验的其他国家监管机构都在密切关注巴西的结果，因为该国的志愿者人数最多，达到12476人。土耳其12月24日宣布，该疫苗的有效率为91.25%，但这是建立在一个小型临床试验的初步结果基础上。主持该试验的科学家在新闻发布会上对结果进行了讨论，但没有以书面形式在网上提供数据。

12月31日，中国政府表示，已批准国有企业国药集团生产的另一种新冠病毒疫苗。国药集团曾宣布，三期试验表明其疫苗有效率为79.34%，但没有提供任何进一步的试验数据，因此外部专家无法对这一说法进行评估。

开展这项研究的巴西布坦坦研究所(Butantan Institute)所长迪马斯·科瓦斯(Dimas Covas)拒绝提供有关疫苗研究的详细数据，包括按安慰剂和疫苗志愿者分列的感染病毒人数。

在其他国家，疫苗是在普通人身上进行测试，但科瓦斯表示，巴西的新冠病毒研究完全依赖医疗专业人员，他们感染病毒的风险比普通人更高。
他说：“该疫苗经过了严格的测试。”他还说，测试志愿者中没有人出现新冠重症或轻度病例，也没有人需要住院治疗。

圣保罗官员称，他们希望巴西卫生管理机构能在几天内批准紧急使用该疫苗。巴西在周四迎来了一个严峻的里程碑：新冠死亡人数达到20万。
官员们表示，如果获得批准，巴西每天可以生产多达100万剂疫苗。

跟国药集团的疫苗一样，CoronaVac也是采用一种传统技术制成的，使用灭活病毒刺激人体免疫系统产生抗体。

这种疫苗的效力往往会低一些，但可以在冷藏温度下保存，使运输和储存容易得多。这些特性对发展中国家尤其重要，因其可能没有维持辉瑞和莫德纳生产的冷冻疫苗有效性的基础设施。科兴董事长尹卫东称，用灭活技术制作疫苗是“最好的”。

在接受新冠疫苗接种前填写同意书的北京民众。中国设定的目标是到下个月中旬为5000万人接种疫苗。 CHEN ZHONGHAO/XINHUA, VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS

即便在新冠疫情之前，科兴在生物技术界就已经树立起良好的声誉。2003年，该公司成为世界上第一家为另一场冠状病毒疫情SARS（严重急性呼吸系统综合征）研发实验性疫苗的企业。

该公司开始对人体进行试验，但在疫情结束后不得不取消了进一步的试验。不过，那次经历并非毫无意义。

去年1月下旬，中国一位顶级流行病学家在国家电视台上披露，武汉的新冠病毒正在人传人，此后不久，科兴就开始研发新冠疫苗。该公司的科学家取消了春节假期，着手开展了“克冠行动”。

现年56岁的尹卫东的职业生涯始于北方城市唐山的疾病控制中心。甲肝的危害令其困扰，他开始思索如何才能造出疫苗来控制这种疾病。

1985年，21岁的尹卫东成为首个分离出甲型肝炎病毒的人，2001年，他创立了科兴生物技术公司。

一路走来，科兴经常陷入行业的不良行为丑闻。根据2018年提交给美国证券交易委员会(Securities and Exchange Commission)的一份援引法庭记录的文件称，2002年到2011年，尹卫东向中国药品监管高级官员尹红章夫妇支付了逾50万元，以批准他的疫苗。

该官员于2017年因收受公司高管贿赂入狱，行贿者还包括另一家疫苗公司的负责人，该公司正与阿斯利康(AstraZeneca)联手生产新冠疫苗。这些高管并未受到审查。

科兴发言人刘沛诚表示，这些事情发生在10多年前，并补充说，“政府当局未用这些罪名指控尹卫东或本公司有任何不当行为。”

科兴的主要股东曾试图利用尹卫东的行贿案将他排挤出公司。这场混乱的斗争最终导致该公司的电力供应被一位主要股东的代表切断，使中国甲型肝炎疫苗供应一度暂停。

在经历这一切之后，尹卫东的地位并未被动摇，还将科兴打造成为中国新冠疫苗推广的领军者。

科兴为生产新冠疫苗而在北京建造的工厂。科兴已经售出了超过3亿剂疫苗，主要销往低收入和中等收入国家。 WANG ZHAO/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE — GETTY IMAGES

在承诺进行早期试验后，科兴认定自己需要疫情活跃地区的一家研究机构的帮助。巴西的新冠感染病例数量居世界第三，仅次于印度和美国，有780万例，这使得科兴能更快地测试其疫苗的效力。

巴西布坦坦研究所看起来是个理想的合作伙伴。所长科瓦斯表示，双方早在疫情开始前就有合作关系。该研究所也精通于科兴正在使用的技术。

“我们有共同利益，特别是也都有能力迅速完成这项工作，”科瓦斯在接受采访时表示。

在走出国门的过程中，科兴被迫穿越了政治雷区。

最近几周，该公司的网站遭到了土耳其黑客的破坏。黑客们放上了东突厥斯坦的旗帜，这是中国禁止使用的标志，通常被用做突厥穆斯林少数民族维吾尔人的独立象征。

该公司的临床试验受到了雅伊尔·博尔索纳罗(Jair Bolsonaro)总统支持者的批评，博尔索纳罗还拒绝了该国卫生部购买4600万剂疫苗的方案。去年11月，在一名参与者死亡后，试验被暂停，这一监管举措曾被博尔索纳罗称为一场胜利，他将疫情归咎于中国。但在卫生当局裁定死亡与疫苗无关后，试验又恢复了。

尚不清楚科兴疫苗是否会在巴西全境使用。博尔索纳罗的竞争对手、为科兴进行试验的圣保罗州州长若昂·多利亚(João Doria)与该中国公司就疫苗剂量进行了直接谈判。他宣布，如果得到监管部门批准，该州预计在1月底开始接种疫苗。这是巴西唯一一个购买科兴疫苗的州。

周四宣布这一消息后，巴西卫生部长爱德华多·帕祖埃洛(Eduardo Pazuello)对记者表示，联邦政府准备购买一亿剂CoronaVac疫苗。

“这种疫苗将拯救无数人，”多利亚在周四的新闻发布会上说。“今天是充满希望的一天。”

https://cn.n Mariana Simões和Letícia...关注她 [URL='https://twitter.com/suilee']@suilee

Ernesto Londoño是《纽约时报》巴西分社社长，常驻里约热内卢。他此前曾担任社论撰稿人。在2014年加入时报之前，他供职于《华盛顿邮报》。欢迎在Twitter和Facebook上关注他。

翻译：纽约时报中文网

点击查看本文英文版。
ytimes.com/business/20210108/china-coronavirus-vaccine-sinovac/[/URL]

 

[lindamy]

94和99岁高龄的英国女王夫妇都接种了疫苗，但是看了几个报道，都没写哪种疫苗。

 

[lindamy]

2 hr 28 min ago

Blaze at facility of world's biggest vaccine maker kills 5 people​

From CNN's Manveena Suri in New Delhi

Workers are seen after a fire broke out at India's Serum Institute in Pune on January 21. AFP/Getty Images

A fire broke out at facility for the Serum Institute of India (SII), the world’s biggest vaccine maker, in the city of Pune on Thursday.

Murlidhar Mohol, mayor of the western Indian city, told reporters that five bodies, believed to be those of construction workers, were retrieved from the six-floor building, while four people were rescued.

The blaze, which is now under control, will not impact production of the Covid vaccine, the company says.

SII is in partnership with Oxford University and AstraZeneca to produce the Covishield vaccine.

I would like to reassure all governments & the public that there would be no loss of #COVISHIELD production due to multiple production buildings that I had kept in reserve to deal with such contingencies at @SerumInstIndia," the company’s CEO Adar Poonawalla tweeted.

In a separate post, Poonawalla tweeted, “We are deeply saddened and offer our deepest condolences to the family members of the departed.”

The cause of the fire is yet to be determined though, according to Mohol, preliminary investigations suggest that “during the building’s construction, some welding work could have led to the fire.”

 

[lindamy]

3 hr 6 min ago

China to give half a million vaccine doses to Pakistan for free​

From CNN's Adeel Raja and Sophia Saifi in Islamabad

China will gift Pakistan 500,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine, according to Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

The minister told media Thursday in Islamabad that the Chinese-made Covid-19 shot would be provided by January 31.

In December, Pakistan announced that it will be receiving 1.2 million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine to administer to the country’s first responders.

Qureshi added that the 500,000 doses of the vaccine will arrive in Pakistan from February.

 

[lindamy]

27 min ago

Hong Kong authorizes emergency use of Fosun-BioNTech Covid-19 shot​

From CNN's Chandler Thornton and Eric Cheung in Hong Kong

Hong Kong has greenlit the Fosun-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine -- the first shot to be approved in the city -- according to a government statement released on Monday.

The statement said the initial batch of 1 million doses is expected to arrive in Hong Kong in late February, where on arrival the government would begin the rollout “as soon as possible.”

The use of German pharmaceutical company BioNTech's new vaccine as a prevention of Covid-19 has more benefits than risks," Hong Kong's Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan said in the statement.

Some background: The approval of the Fosun-BioNTech shot comes after an advisory panel unanimously voted in favor of the vaccine for emergency use last week, where the 12-member panel were in agreement the vaccine met the safety and quality requirements in Hong Kong for emergency use.

The vaccine’s approval makes it the first in the financial hub and comes at a time where the government is expected to implement new quarantine measures for cabin crew next month, as the region battles to contain another wave of coronavirus.

Hong Kong’s airline Cathay Pacific said in a statement they would expect their passenger rates to reduce by nearly 60% and cargo capacity by 25% if the government does go ahead with plans.

Under the proposed plans by the government, pilots and cabin crew would be expected to face a mandatory 14-day hotel quarantine when they return from an overseas trip.

 

[向问天]

27 min ago

Hong Kong authorizes emergency use of Fosun-BioNTech Covid-19 shot​

From CNN's Chandler Thornton and Eric Cheung in Hong Kong

Hong Kong has greenlit the Fosun-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine -- the first shot to be approved in the city -- according to a government statement released on Monday.

The statement said the initial batch of 1 million doses is expected to arrive in Hong Kong in late February, where on arrival the government would begin the rollout “as soon as possible.”

The use of German pharmaceutical company BioNTech's new vaccine as a prevention of Covid-19 has more benefits than risks," Hong Kong's Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan said in the statement.

Some background: The approval of the Fosun-BioNTech shot comes after an advisory panel unanimously voted in favor of the vaccine for emergency use last week, where the 12-member panel were in agreement the vaccine met the safety and quality requirements in Hong Kong for emergency use.



Hong Kong’s airline Cathay Pacific said in a statement they would expect their passenger rates to reduce by nearly 60% and cargo capacity by 25% if the government does go ahead with plans.

Under the proposed plans by the government, pilots and cabin crew would be expected to face a mandatory 14-day hotel quarantine when they return from an overseas trip.

香港人只愿意用复兴公司的德国疫苗。

但是那个疫苗要求-70度，中国以前疫苗出事主要在运输的时候的温度保证方面。

 

[lindamy]

Merck abandons 2 potential COVID-19 vaccines over weak data​

By Deena Beasley Reuters
Posted January 25, 2021 10:01 am
Updated January 25, 2021 10:06 am

Drugmaker Merck & Co said on Monday it would stop the development of its two COVID-19 vaccines and focus pandemic research on treatments, with initial data on an experimental oral antiviral expected by the end of March.

Merck was late to join the race to develop a vaccine to protect against the coronavirus, which has so far killed more than 2 million people and continues to surge in many parts of the world including the United States.

The company will record a pre-tax discontinuation charge in the fourth quarter for vaccine candidate V591, which it acquired with the purchase of Austrian vaccine maker Themis Bioscience, and V590, developed with nonprofit research organization IAVI, Merck said in a statement.

READ MORE: Your guide to COVAX, the WHO’s coronavirus global vaccine plan

In early trials, both vaccines generated immune responses that were inferior to those seen in people who had recovered from COVID-19 as well as those reported for other COVID-19 vaccines, the company said.

The announcement is a setback to the fight against the pandemic and comes a month after Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline delayed launch of their shot to late 2021, underscoring the challenges of developing vaccines at record speed.

Tens of millions of doses of vaccines from rivals Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech as well as from Moderna Inc have so far been administered globally.

9:06Coronavirus: The science behind the new Covid-19 mRNA vaccines

Coronavirus: The science behind the new Covid-19 mRNA vaccines

Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca Plc and others are also racing to develop safe and effective vaccines to protect against the virus.

Merck said it would focus COVID-19 research and manufacturing efforts on two investigational medicines: MK-7110 and MK-4482, which it now calls molnupiravir.

Molnupiravir, which is being developed in collaboration with Ridgeback Bio, is an oral antiviral being studied in both hospital and outpatient settings.
READ MORE: Moderna says vaccine appears to protect against COVID-19 variants

Merck said a Phase 2/3 trial of the drug was set to finish in May, but initial efficacy results were due in the first quarter and would be made public if clinically meaningful.

Merck said results from a Phase 3 study of MK-7110, an immune modulator being studied as a treatment for patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19, were expected in the first quarter.

Merck abandons 2 potential COVID-19 vaccines over weak data - National | Globalnews.ca

Merck was late to join the race to develop a vaccine to protect against the coronavirus.

globalnews.ca

 

[wei_cheng]

如果每次数量不太大，液氮容器还是挺常见的 (北美的小诊所也常有小型液氮存储设备，比如用于点痦子，长时间维持-70度会复杂一些)。
Fosun 得到 BioNTech 授权是件好事，获取了用 脂质纳米粒 包裹 mRNA 使它在体内被分解前发挥最大效力的工艺等等。
反正这部分用量也是计入参与 COVAX 计划所承诺要买的数量的。香港人愿意接种 mRNA 疫苗挺好，不良反应不要赖 Fosun 就行。

香港人只愿意用复兴公司的德国疫苗。

但是那个疫苗要求-70度，中国以前疫苗出事主要在运输的时候的温度保证方面。

 

[lindamy]

29 min ago

0.01% of people tested positive for coronavirus after two vaccine doses, Israeli data shows​

From CNN Health’s Elizabeth Cohen

An Israeli man receives his second Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine from a medical professional at a vaccination center set up on a mall parking lot in Givataim, Israel, on Wednesday, January 20. Oded Balilty/AP

About 0.01% of a large group of people who received two doses of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine tested positive for coronavirus after their second shot -- and those patients had only a mild illness, according to preliminary data from an Israeli health care system.

Maccabi Healthcare Services found that out of approximately 128,600 people who received two doses of the vaccine, 20 became infected and tested positive more than a week after their second dose.

Maccabi did not test all patients after receiving their second dose. Instead, they tested an unspecified number of people who developed symptoms or who were exposed to someone with Covid-19.

The clinical trials for Pfizer/BioNTech’s vaccine showed it to be about 95% effective.

The press release stated that the data is “preliminary” but that “the numbers are very encouraging.”

Of the 20 patients who tested positive, 50% suffer from chronic illnesses. All of the 20 patients experienced a mild illness with symptoms including headaches, cough, weakness or fatigue. No one was hospitalized.

Out of a population of just over 9 million people, Israel has given first vaccine doses to about 2.5 million people, and second doses to about 1 million people.