New Human Clinical Trial Underway Amid Race for Covid-19 Vaccine

A new human clinical trial for a Covid-19 vaccine is underway at the University of Queensland, in collaboration with pharmaceutical company CSL.

Starting on July 13, about 120 adult volunteers in Brisbane are participating in the initial study of the vaccine to check that it’s safe and induces a sufficiently strong immune response.

The University of Queensland has a solid reputation for advances in medical science, especially vaccines. Professor Paul Young is the head of the University of Queensland’s School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences.

He says, “We’re highly confident because we’ve already gone through immunogenicity studies in mice and shown that our vaccine induces extremely high levels of neutralizing antibody higher than any I’ve seen in other corresponding vaccine approaches.”

As of July 13, the World Health Organization counted 23 vaccine candidates in human clinical trials plus 137 in earlier, pre-clinical studies.

“We’ll be testing not only whether the vaccine is safe, but also doing a dose escalation. So we’ll be determining the ideal dose and we’ll be doing some fairly solid immunology on the immune responses that those individuals provide.”

Scientists at the university have broken ground by creating the molecular clamp.

“We’re hoping that it will be a long-lived antibody response, but also one that has stimulated, a very strong memory such that if one encounters the virus again, maybe even years later, that memory can kick in.”

The university is working with pharmaceutical company CSL to accelerate manufacturing. In fact, CSL began figuring out how to make large amounts of the vaccine material well before the experimental shot had entered initial human testing.

Dr Andrew Cuthbertson is an executive director at CSL in Melbourne.

He says, “We believe we could make somewhere between 15 to 50 million doses by the end of this calendar year. And we could make something like one hundred million doses over the next 12 months.”

He adds, “I think we will have those millions of doses available, but they won’t be available for mass vaccination of the community until we’ve generated the clinical trial data to support a license for the vaccine.”

Andrew says that everyone is working on the basis that the experimental vaccine will be successful. But, science is inherently risky and things fail. Fortunately, there are many teams and vaccine approaches in this race. What’s critical is that enough of them make it over the finish line — and fast.

“It’s really, really important. It’s really hard, technically challenging. Challenging to make a vaccine and also challenging to test it appropriately and make sure that it’s safe and effective and appropriate for use in large groups of people around the world.”

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2TwO8Gm

QUICKTAKE ON SOCIAL:
Follow QuickTake on Twitter: twitter.com/quicktake
Like QuickTake on Facebook: facebook.com/quicktake
Follow QuickTake on Instagram: instagram.com/quicktake
Subscribe to our newsletter: https://bit.ly/2FJ0oQZ
Email us at quicktakenews@gmail.com

QuickTake by Bloomberg is a global news network delivering up-to-the-minute analysis on the biggest news, trends and ideas for a new generation of leaders.


In This Story: COVID-19

Covid-19 is the official WHO name given to the novel coronavirus which broke out in late 2019 and began to spread in the early months of 2020.

Symptoms of coronavirus

The main symptoms of coronavirus are:

  • a persistent new cough (non productive, dry)
  • a high temperature (e.g. head feels warm to the touch)
  • shortness of breath (if this is abnormal for the individual, or increased)

Latest News about Covid-19

Below are stories from around the globe related to the 2020 outbreak of novel Coronavirus – since the WHO gave the Covid-19 naming. Most recent items are posted nearest the top.

5 Recent Items: COVID-19

Global National: Jan. 19, 2024 | Health data shows influenza, COVID-19 cases decreasing in Canada

Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500 hit record highs as tech stocks soar | January 19, 2024

Stock market today: Stocks climb with techs ready to roar | January 19, 2023

Dr Anthony Fauci ‘became part of the problem’ when it came to the spread of Covid misinformation

WEF summit: Canada warns of future supply shocks amid global instability

In This Story: Queensland

Queensland (QLD) is an Australian state covering the continent’s northeast, with a coastline stretching nearly 7,000km. Its offshore Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest coral reef system, hosts thousands of marine species. The city of Cairns is a gateway to the reef and tropical Daintree Rainforest. The capital, Brisbane, is flanked by the surfing beaches of the Gold and Sunshine Coasts.

5 Recent Items: Queensland

North Queensland braces for incoming tropical cyclone | 9 News Australia

Australia Weather Update: Heatwave warning for south-east Queensland | 9 News Australia

Queensland braces for developing cyclone set to hit next week | 9 News Australia

Dispute erupts over future of unused quarantine facility | 9 News Australia

Man in clown mask robs store at gunpoint

In This Story: Vaccine

A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease. A vaccine typically contains an agent that resembles a disease-causing microorganism and is often made from weakened or killed forms of the microbe, its toxins, or one of its surface proteins.

9 Recent Items: Vaccine

‘National incident’ declared over measles outbreak

Southern Africa cholera outbreak: Zambia and Zimbabwe lead vaccine drives

People born 1998-2004 ‘should get measles vaccine’ #measles #vaccine

N.Y. midwife falsified thousands of vaccine records

Vaccines: There’s ‘so much noise’ around facts: Moderna CEO

Vaccine for RSV approved in Australia | 9 News Australia

IT’S OVER! This Fauci SCANDAL Is Just The Tip Of The Iceberg

‘Lunatics have taken over!’ | Neil Oliver on air strikes in Yemen, Britain’s borders and more

They KNEW This Vaccine Data Was TRUE But CENSORED It Anyway!!

In This Story: World Health Organization

The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution, which establishes the agency’s governing structure and principles, states its main objective as “the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health.”

3 Recent Items: World Health Organization

WHO’s Science in 5: Sun and skin cancer #shorts

WHO’s Science in 5: Sun and skin cancer

WHO Describes ‘Atrocious’ Living Conditions in Gaza

Leave a Comment

We don't require your email address, or your name, for anyone to leave a comment. If you do add an email address, you may be notified if there are replies to your comment - we won't use it for any other purpose. Please make respectful comments, which add value, and avoid personal attacks on others. Links are not allowed in comments - 99% of spam comments, attempt to post links. Please describe where people may find additional information - for example "visit the UN website" or "search Google for..." rather than posting a link. Comments failing to adhere to these guidelines will not be published.