What do we know about the COVID-19 (coronavirus) vaccine?
Novavax, a Maryland-based company working on an RNA vaccine, has been able to increase antibody response to COVID-19.
The company has reported the results of its Phase 1 trial, which reveal the levels of antibodies generated were about four times higher than those in individuals who are recovering from a COVID-19 infection.
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According to the New England Journal of Medicine, 7 known types of COVID-19 vaccines are being tested.
The types of vaccines being tested include inactivated vaccines, subunit vaccines, weakened, live viral vaccines, replicating viral vector vaccines, non-replicating viral vector vaccines, DNA vaccines and mRNA vaccines.
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A coronavirus vaccine developed by BioNTech can prevent more than 90% of people from getting COVID-19 (as of November 2020).
A vaccine by Pfizer and BioNTech has been tested on 43,500 people in six countries and no safety concerns have been raised. The data shows that two doses, three weeks apart, are needed. The trials—in US, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa and Turkey—show 90% protection.
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Some COVID-19 vaccines are being developed using cells originally isolated from foetal tissue (often referred to as foetal cells).
The foetal cells being used are derived from two sources (HEK-293 and PER.C6). HEK-293 is a kidney cell line that was isolated from a terminated foetus in 1972. PER.C6 is a retinal cell line that was isolated from a terminated foetus in 1985.
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The EU has agreed to buy up to 300 million doses of the BioNTech-Pfizer coronavirus vaccine
The EU has agreed to buy up to 300 million doses of the vaccine, but has refused to provide details on how the vaccine would be rolled out, insisting that "a number of steps" needed to be followed beforehand.
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The US government has agreed a multi-billion dollar deal to buy COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer.
The US government has agreed to buy 100 million doses of Pfizer's novel coronavirus vaccine (being developed with German biotech firm, BioNTech) for $1.95 billion. That works out at about $20 per dose.
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Fact Check-COVID vaccines do not ‘shed’ from one person to another and then cause reproductive problems
False claims that the coronavirus vaccines can be passed – or “shed” – from an immunized person to an unvaccinated woman and then somehow affect the woman’s reproductive system are whipping around social media.
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As of the end of August 2020, scientists were working on over 100 potential vaccines worldwide.
More than 100 vaccine candidates, including one by Moderna, were being developed around the world and about 36 have already entered human clinical trials.
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The New York Times (NYT) has created a live tracker of progress on COVID-19 vaccines.
According to the tracker, the first vaccine safety trials in humans started in March. And as of 15 September 2020, NYT reports researchers are testing 40 vaccines in clinical trials on humans, and at least 92 preclinical vaccines are under active investigation in animals.
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US regulators have expressed concern about the side effects of Oxford and AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine.
In September 2019, trials of the vaccine were paused after a UK participant suffered spinal cord inflammation. The volunteer has since recovered and is out of the hospital, and the trial has resumed in the UK after an investigation.
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Some Americans may have to pay to get a COVID-19 vaccine, while others will get it at no additional cost.
Millions of Americans will be able to get a COVID-19 vaccine without paying for it, thanks to legislation by congress (the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security—aka CARES—Act). But many others, including the uninsured, may have to pay out of pocket.
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Moderna, one of the companies leading the race to create a COVID-19 vaccine, has already agreed prices for its sale.
Moderna has made deals with other countries to sell the vaccine for $32 to $37 per dose. Moderna CEO has said these prices reflected "smaller volume agreements." But the company has been developing its vaccine using hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of US federal aid.
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Several companies working on COVID-19 vaccines have declined to pledge not to make a profit from vaccine sales.
On 21 July 2020, US Rep. Jan Schakowsky asked vaccine manufacturers whether they would commit to selling their vaccines "at cost," (i.e. for no profit). Moderna and Merck declined her request, while Johnson & Johnson said it wouldn't make a profit during the pandemic.