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hi I'm an idiot who knows nothing. can someone please explain the disconnect between this sentence: > “It’s all of us against the bug,” said Neil King of the

by zzzeek 7y ago

hi I'm an idiot who knows nothing. can someone please explain the disconnect between this sentence: > “It’s all of us against the bug,” said Neil King of the University of Washington, who has been part of the hunt for a coronavirus vaccine since 2017. noting the "since 2017" part. and this: > The World Health Organisation said this week it may be 18 months before a vaccine against the coronavirus is publicly available. https://www.sciencealert.com/who-says-a-coronavirus-vaccine-is-18-months-away https://www.sciencealert.com/who-says-a-coronavirus-vaccine-... The former sentence seems to suggest there is as yet no path towards a vaccine for this particular virus in that researchers have been trying without success for three years, or is this having to do with the distinction between an immediate vaccine vs. one that is more generalized?

wetpaws 7y ago
Vaccine development usually take years even in the best cases.
- londons_explore 7y ago
  Current processes for vaccine development take years. If you're happy to have a significant chance of infecting the target with the thing you're trying to protect them from, you can make one in an afternoon with 18th century tech. Considering that a major disease outbreak could kill millions, I think we should reconsider this approach. Thousands of people might die to perfect the vaccine making process, but thats better than millions dying from the disease.
  - ksk 7y ago
    Have you ever worked on a vaccine?
- tim333 7y ago
  The Chinese are trying to speed things "China: Coronavirus Vaccine Could Be Ready for 'Emergency Use' in April" https://www.voanews.com/science-health/coronavirus-outbreak/china-coronavirus-vaccine-could-be-ready-emergency-use-april https://www.voanews.com/science-health/coronavirus-outbreak/...
selectodude 7y ago
It’s the latter. The coronavirus is also responsible for SARS and MERS. They had good luck with a vaccine for SARS but it wasn’t needed anymore so they stopped. MERS is highly lethal and was something they wanted a vaccine for if it popped back up. Ideally (this is where my knowledge stops) the vaccines they were working on for other strains will be a good launching pad to make a vaccine for COVID-19.
- allovernow 7y ago
  AFAIK the closest they got to working vaccines for SARS and MERS cause lung damage from autoimmune response in each tested animal model. The issue with these viruses is that they have a property known as Antibody Dependent Enhancement (ADE). Where normally neutralizing antibodies instead facilitate entry into your cells.
  - selectodude 7y ago
    That was a big issue early on, but I think they were able to work past it before funding and interest dried up.
    - vorticalbox 7y ago
      Didn't the SARS vaccine also cause the host to die when reinfected?
      - selectodude 7y ago
        Early versions were causing even more extreme cytokine storms than the SARS virus did without the vaccine. This shit is trial and error with some difficult to handle results when things are still in development. Which is why the idea that we'll have a safe and effective vaccine within the year is a complete pipe dream.
- econcon 7y ago
  MERS outbreak keeps happening again and again.

by zzzeek 7y ago

wetpaws 7y ago

Vaccine development usually take years even in the best cases.

londons_explore 7y ago
Current processes for vaccine development take years. If you're happy to have a significant chance of infecting the target with the thing you're trying to protect them from, you can make one in an afternoon with 18th century tech. Considering that a major disease outbreak could kill millions, I think we should reconsider this approach. Thousands of people might die to perfect the vaccine making process, but thats better than millions dying from the disease.
- ksk 7y ago
  Have you ever worked on a vaccine?
tim333 7y ago
The Chinese are trying to speed things "China: Coronavirus Vaccine Could Be Ready for 'Emergency Use' in April" https://www.voanews.com/science-health/coronavirus-outbreak/china-coronavirus-vaccine-could-be-ready-emergency-use-april https://www.voanews.com/science-health/coronavirus-outbreak/...

selectodude 7y ago

It’s the latter. The coronavirus is also responsible for SARS and MERS. They had good luck with a vaccine for SARS but it wasn’t needed anymore so they stopped. MERS is highly lethal and was something they wanted a vaccine for if it popped back up. Ideally (this is where my knowledge stops) the vaccines they were working on for other strains will be a good launching pad to make a vaccine for COVID-19.

allovernow 7y ago
AFAIK the closest they got to working vaccines for SARS and MERS cause lung damage from autoimmune response in each tested animal model. The issue with these viruses is that they have a property known as Antibody Dependent Enhancement (ADE). Where normally neutralizing antibodies instead facilitate entry into your cells.
- selectodude 7y ago
  That was a big issue early on, but I think they were able to work past it before funding and interest dried up.
  - vorticalbox 7y ago
    Didn't the SARS vaccine also cause the host to die when reinfected?
    - selectodude 7y ago
      Early versions were causing even more extreme cytokine storms than the SARS virus did without the vaccine. This shit is trial and error with some difficult to handle results when things are still in development. Which is why the idea that we'll have a safe and effective vaccine within the year is a complete pipe dream.
econcon 7y ago
MERS outbreak keeps happening again and again.