Posted on 05/15/2020 6:07:30 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
The director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has said that no corners will be cut in the search for a coronavirus vaccine. But now, there's encouraging news about a potential vaccine that's now being tested on humans and monkeys.
NIH researchers in Montana tested the vaccine using six rhesus macaque monkeys. They said the monkeys that got the vaccine developed protective antibodies against the coronavirus.
But it's what happened next that's giving the doctors hope. When they exposed the animals to coronavirus, the monkeys that weren't vaccinated developed pneumonia, a sign of COVID-19. But those that got the vaccine, and developed the protective antibodies, had no pneumonia and no virus in their lungs.
"Why isn't it enough to show that a vaccine elicits, say, an antibody response?" asked CBS News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook.
"We need to know that it protects the animal or the human from the infection," said Dr. Kathryn Edwards, who directs vaccine research at Vanderbilt University. "And just having the antibody, if it doesn't work to prevent disease, it's not going to cut it."
The vaccine used in the study is being developed by Oxford University. It relies on a cold virus that's been modified so it can't spread infection. The vaccine is packed with genetic material from the coronavirus — and once injected, it triggers an immune response, teaching the body to recognize and fight a future infection.
Oxford professor of human genetics Adrian Hill said that if the virus works, it has another important benefit. "This is not a hugely difficult vaccine to make," he said. "So large scale is feasible, we believe."
A different study has shown that rhesus monkeys and humans have about 93% of their DNA in common.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
This Monkey trial in the USA simply REPLICATES what the Oxford University Researchers did in the UK two weeks ago.
See here for the Oxford trials:
Great. Next Charlton Heston will be cursing in front of a piece of the Statue of Liberty
Nickname it the “Scopes Monkey Trial.”
The key here is not only that it protected from infection but more importantly that it did not cause lung damage in conferring the protection upon challenge.
Lung fibrosis can be delayed so they’ll have to observe longer.
Oh. Monkey trial.
Thought it said Monkeys Tried as Oxford University Vaculty Deans ...
That’s kinda how I felt the day after Obama was elected
but, I got back on my horse with Nova and went to work anyway
Good job both of you.
If memory serves Chuck is screaming “damn you all to hell”
One small side effect...
Monkeys have bat wings now.
I guess this is the lab at Hamilton?
“Monkey trial of Oxford University vaccine by NIH in Montana shows encouraging results”
this is indeed excellent news! i’ve been extremely worried about the worldwide monkey coronavirus pandemic, and now that we have a workable monkey vaccine, we can get all of the monkeys vaccinated and finally put an end to the monkey coronavirus pandemic ...
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