As I read that the increase in covid cases accelerated their ability to do their statistical analysis? So those superspreader events were aprt fo the amster plan to save us from ourselves. The man is a genius.
Even in theory - Operation Warp Speed had more to do with the distribution of vaccines, vs. the actual development of vaccines. No idea how the fact that Pfizer was not involved in that changes their distribution speed. Maybe they were so confident in it they already ramped up production on their own, as if they were already a participant. Hopefully that is the case.
A reporter on CNBC just said that Pfizer’s goal is to have a vaccine available to every American who wants one by June of next year.
From the HHS July 22 announcement. “Through Operation Warp Speed, we are assembling a portfolio of vaccines to increase the odds that the American people will have at least one safe, effective vaccine as soon as the end of this year,” said HHS Secretary Alex Azar. “Depending on success in clinical trials, today’s agreement will enable the delivery of approximately 100 million doses of vaccine being developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.” HHS pre ordered the 100m vaccines. Definitely not a crap shoot for Pfizer. The fact that this was done in Europe, as anticipated by including BioNTech in the agreement, is irrelevant.
Presidents throughout history have been credited with wins that were really just good timing. This is no different.
The government contract was CONTINGENT, only if the vaccine was effective. The government did NOT fund the R&D in any way. Unless you think Pfizer is lying or something... It remains to be seen what the role of the govt (state or federal) will be here. This is the one that needs to be stored at super low temps, so the distribution will be interesting. According to CNBC Pfizer will be packing it in dry-ice and are manufacturing their own dry ice packaging which will keep it at the proper temp for 10 days. FYI I don't believe most pharmacies and hospitals have capability to store things at -90. So that could be an issue unless the dry ice packaging is sufficient on it's own, it's not a thing they can't just send to CVS by the truckload as CVS might not have capability to store it properly. They'll have to be very careful that it's kept at the proper temps.
I did see Germany was going to set up 60 distribution storage sites. I didn’t pick up where they would be administered. US isn’t the only market and the research is German biotech (?) As Far as Pfizer, it’s not like there is a market for a vaccine whoever buys it...lol... also huge PR for company
Great news! This could be a breakthrough for vaccines in general given it's an entirely novel approach to making vaccines. With that said, this is gonna be really expensive. RNA is not stable at all so storage conditions will be pretty extreme.
As the OP, I hereby assert my authority (which is absolutely zero, nada, bupkis) to agree with this post. Go talk about politics in the US Corona thread, please. This has been 28 pages of incredibly useful information and no crap. Please. I ask for all of us to stop the usual TH stuff here. Thanks
UPS, DHL and FedEx are all expanding/constructing freezer farms. UPS is constructing one near Louisville that can hold 14.4 million vials at any one moment. UPS Readies Freezer Farms to Ship Virus Vaccine — If We Get One
They'll need onsite storage in clinics, walgreens, etc., and they'll need trucks that can transport them at that temperature as well. It's gonna be an undertaking, IMO. Hopefully Operation Warp Speed has prepared for this. It does put my mind a bit at ease that the military is helping out with the logistics. They're truly the masters at it because that's probably the most important aspect of a successful military operation.
In the article it discussed how UPS is upfitting an entire fleet of trucks to transport to deep freeze units, high tech temp variation monitoring, etc....they are going all in on the transport piece. I am going to guess that the deal is that since the cold storage units are vertical storage and on casters, they will be transported to medical facilities that do not have their own, or enough of their own, then returned when empty. If I am understanding the handling and storage needs of these mRNA vaccine candidates correctly, I have a hard time seeing them at your local CVS or grocery store.
I think the pfizer vaccine is the one that has to be stored very cold. Would storing it in liquid nitrogen be cold enough?
Yes. I believe so. I also think it can be stable/safe above -80*C for a couple, maybe three days - which allows for last mile and administration without refrigeration needs.
Eli Lilly's monoclonal antibody treatment has been granted emergency authorization use by the FDA. Saw the list of limited people it will be made available to do to very small supplies at first. [FDA okays Lilly's antibody treatment for Covid-19 - CNN]
All this is very good news. Looking forward to seeing some of the research data on the different vaccines
Yes and no. The Monocolonal Antibody treatment will be reserved for outbreaks in high risk populations, people in poor health that meet specific criteria such as BMI over 35, Diabetes, known heart/kidney issues, etc.... Also, this must be administered in a medical setting, so it is not like much of America will be treated by this. This is another step at reducing the mortality rate, not limiting how sick people become, at least not at first.
This probably falls more under the heading of comedy than true research, but the headline is what they headline is. Also, I have worked with some really brilliant theoreticians (totally different field) from Russia, so there is at least a possibility that they are not making this stuff up.......though I am on the side of laughing at this more than lauding this!! It would really be great if this were true, however, as several poorer countries have inked supply agreements with Russia. Russia says its coronavirus vaccine is 92% effective, as battle to beat Western drugmakers heats up
