'Sharing finite supplies strategically and globally is actually in each country's national interest. No-one is safe until everyone is safe.'
Director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned against countries seeking to secure vaccines for their own citizens during the pandemic
He said no one country has access to research and development, manufacturing and all the supply chain for all essential medicines and materials.
The WHO has been working on a guide since May, so there is fair global access to diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines.
It suggests that vaccines, when they become available, are rolled out in two phases.
Doses should be 'allocated proportionally' and 'simultaneously' to all participating countries to help cut overall risk.
For most countries, the aim would be for this allocation to build up to 20 per cent of the population and cover most of the at-risk grous
Then 'consideration will be given to countries in relation to threat and vulnerability', Dr Tedros said.
He added: 'Frontline workers in health and social care settings are prioritised as they are essential to treat and protect the population and come in close contact with high-mortality risk groups.
'If we don't protect these highest-risk people from the virus everywhere and at the same time, we can't stabilise health systems and rebuild the global economy.
CHINESE COVID-19 JAB COULD BE ON THE MARKET BY DECEMBER
A Chinese Covid-19 vaccine contender may be on the market by December and cost just £100 for two doses.
State-owned pharmaceutical company Sinopharm claims the jab could be ready by Christmas, once final stage trials are over.
A Chinese Covid-19 vaccine contender made by Sinopharm (pictured) may be on the market by December and cost £100
Officials feared the vaccine may not be ready until at least next year because a lack of new infections in China made it difficult to test it.
But alternative trial sites abroad have since been set up, with the third and final part of the tests planning to recruit 15,000 volunteers in the United Arab Emirates.
Manufacturers will be able to make 220million doses of the jab a year, a Sinopharm chief said.
But initial trials have shown people may need two or even three shots each for it to be effective.
The population of China alone is 1.4billion, suggesting British and American officials may struggle to get access to the vaccine if it is proven to work.
The experimental jab has shown to trigger antibodies in volunteers from the first and second stages of experiments. It has also been found to be safe.
But although the findings were promising, they do not yet prove the jab can prevent a person catching the virus in the first place.
'This is what the first crucial phase of the vaccine allocation mechanism aims to do. We are all so interconnected.'
A vaccine is considered crucial for getting out of the coronavirus pandemic because it would be the only way to secure protection against catching it.
It would work by injecting either a tiny piece of the virus into the body — which would not make someone sick — or a clone of its DNA.
This triggers an immune response which has long-term memory, so if a person is exposed to the coronavirus in real life, their body knows how to fight it quickly.
But until a jab is proven to be safe and effective, controlling cases relies on social distancing, regular hand washing and face mask wearing.
Scientists are racing to find a vaccine that will protect millions, with 24 already being tested in humans and more than 140 in pre-clinical trials.
Dr Ryan said: 'We're making good progress. Realistically it's going to be the first part of next year before we start seeing people getting vaccinated'.
The WHO is working to expand access to potential vaccines and to help scale-up production capacity.
Dr Ryan said: 'We need to be fair about this, because this is a global good. Vaccines for this pandemic are not for the wealthy, they are not for the poor, they are for everybody.'
Dr Ryan also cautioned schools to be careful about re-opening until community transmission of Covid-19 is under control.
'We have to do everything possible to bring our children back to school, and the most effective thing we can do is to stop the disease in our community,' he said.
'Because if you control the disease in the community, you can open the schools.'
It comes after results from the first phase of clinical trials of Oxford's vaccine were published on last month in the British medical journal, The Lancet.
The vaccine — called AZD1222 — produced a 'strong' antibody and T cell immune response in volunteers.
Researchers said 'the early results hold promise' but added much more is still needed.
Infectious disease scientists warned 'there is still a long way to go' before any vaccine is rolled out.
British officials have ordered 340million doses of experimental coronavirus vaccines from a range of firms.
Britain's 'buy first, test later' approach may be its best chance of getting a working jab, according to the Vaccine Taskforce chief.
WHAT ARE THE LEADING COVID-19 VACCINE CANDIDATES?
University of Oxford
Oxford University academics began developing the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine in January. It is now named AZD1222, after the researchers signed a manufacturing partnership with pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca.
Human trials started on April 23 and they are now in the final phase, with trials being carried out in the UK, Brazil and South Africa.
Lead of the project Professor Sarah Gilbert told The Times she is '80 per cent' confident of its success.
The science behind Oxford's vaccine attempt hinges on recreating the 'spike' proteins that are found all over the outside of the Covid-19 viruses.
It is made from a weakened version of an adenovirus from chimpanzees that has been genetically changed so it is impossible for it to grow in humans.
Imperial College London
Fifteen volunteers have already been given Imperial's trial jab and testing is expected to ramp up to include as many as 200-300 participants in the coming weeks. A second trial, with 6,000 people, will come later.
But Professor Robin Shattock, lead researcher, said the vaccine won't be available until at least 2021 even if everything goes according to plan.
If the jab works, the team want to make it as cheap as possible so the entire British population could be vaccinated for the 'really good value' of just under £200million.
Imperial's vaccine also attempts to mimic the spikes on the outside of the Covid-19 virus. However, it will work by delivering genetic material (RNA) from the virus, which programs cells inside the patient's body to recreate the spike proteins.
Pfizer/BioNTech
US drug giant Pfizer — famous for Viagra — and German firm BioNTech have been working on a number of potential Covid-19 vaccines under the 'BNT162 program'.
It reported positive preliminary results from the ongoing Phase I/II clinical trial of one called BNT162b1 on July 1. Tests on 24 volunteers showed that it was well tolerated and produced dose dependent immunity.
Dr Kathrin Jansen, Pfizer's head of vaccine research and development, said the vaccine 'is able to produce neutralizing antibody responses in humans at or above the levels observed' in Covid-19 survivors.
Pfizer received fast track designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for two of their four potential Covid-19 vaccines this month.
The vaccine is one which injects RNA - genetic material - which codes the body to produce proteins that look like the spike proteins that would be found on the outside of the real coronavirus.
Valneva
French firm Valneva have yet to begin human trials of their Covid-19 vaccine, called VLA2001. Company bosses hope to scale up testing by the end of this year.
The jab is currently only in pre-clinical studies — meaning it is being tested in the lab and on animals.
If proven successful, the vaccine will be manufactured at its facilities in Livingston, Scotland and in Solna, Sweden.
Valneva's jab is based on injecting people with dead versions of the coronavirus.
This is called an inactivated whole virus vaccine and works by injecting the virus itself but versions that have been damaged in a lab so that they cannot infect human cells. They can be damaged using heat, chemicals or radiation.
Even though the viruses are inactivated the body still recognises them as threats and mounts and immune response against them which can develop immunity.
Moderna
Massachusetts-based Moderna was the first US company to start human trials of its potential Covid-19 vaccine, known as mRNA-1273, on March 16.
The jab has proven to trigger an immune response in all 45 injected volunteers, according to a study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine on July 14.
Moderna's shot showed early promise in its phase 2 human tests last month. The company reported that it triggered antibody production on par with that seen in recovered coronavirus patients.
CanSino
Chinese vaccine Ad5-nCoV, made by CanSino, was the very first shot to enter clinical trials earlier this year and is a leading candidate.
A trial of 108 healthy volunteers in China showed it safely triggered an immune response in participants.
Results published May 22 in The Lancet showed most of the people dosed with the vaccine had immune responses, although their levels of antibodies thought to neutralize the virus were relatively low. Researchers saw a stronger ramp-up of other immune compounds, called T-cells, that might also help fight the infection off.
Johnson & Johnson
The drug giant started work on the vaccine in January, two months before Covid-19 was labelled a global pandemic.
A vaccine trial spearheaded by Johnson and Johnson will start recruiting people in September, with clinical data available by the end of the year.
An 'emergency use' batch of the vaccine is anticipated to be authorised as early as 2021, which would likely be prioritised for vulnerable people.
CureVac
CureVac, a German company, secured permission last month to begin first phase clinical trials of its attempt at a coronavirus vaccine.
The vaccine, named CVnCoV, works by injected RNA designed to force the production of coronavirus-like proteins in the body and trigger an immune response.
The first trials will involved 168 people between the ages of 18 and 60 in Germany and Belgium.
He said no one country has access to research and development, manufacturing and all the supply chain for all essential medicines and materials.The WHO has been working on a guide since May, so there is fair global access to diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines.It suggests that vaccines, when they become available, are rolled out in two phases.Doses should be 'allocated proportionally' and 'simultaneously' to all participating countries to help cut overall risk.For most countries, the aim would be for this allocation to build up to 20 per cent of the population and cover most of the at-risk grousThen 'consideration will be given to countries in relation to threat and vulnerability', Dr Tedros said.He added: 'Frontline workers in health and social care settings are prioritised as they are essential to treat and protect the population and come in close contact with high-mortality risk groups.'If we don't protect these highest-risk people from the virus everywhere and at the same time, we can't stabilise health systems and rebuild the global economy.
A Chinese Covid-19 vaccine contender made by Sinopharm (pictured) may be on the market by December and cost £100Officials feared the vaccine may not be ready until at least next year because a lack of new infections in China made it difficult to test it.But alternative trial sites abroad have since been set up, with the third and final part of the tests planning to recruit 15,000 volunteers in the United Arab Emirates.Manufacturers will be able to make 220million doses of the jab a year, a Sinopharm chief said.But initial trials have shown people may need two or even three shots each for it to be effective.The population of China alone is 1.4billion, suggesting British and American officials may struggle to get access to the vaccine if it is proven to work.The experimental jab has shown to trigger antibodies in volunteers from the first and second stages of experiments. It has also been found to be safe.But although the findings were promising, they do not yet prove the jab can prevent a person catching the virus in the first place.'This is what the first crucial phase of the vaccine allocation mechanism aims to do. We are all so interconnected.'A vaccine is considered crucial for getting out of the coronavirus pandemic because it would be the only way to secure protection against catching it.It would work by injecting either a tiny piece of the virus into the body — which would not make someone sick — or a clone of its DNA.This triggers an immune response which has long-term memory, so if a person is exposed to the coronavirus in real life, their body knows how to fight it quickly.But until a jab is proven to be safe and effective, controlling cases relies on social distancing, regular hand washing and face mask wearing.Scientists are racing to find a vaccine that will protect millions, with 24 already being tested in humans and more than 140 in pre-clinical trials.Dr Ryan said: 'We're making good progress. Realistically it's going to be the first part of next year before we start seeing people getting vaccinated'.The WHO is working to expand access to potential vaccines and to help scale-up production capacity.Dr Ryan said: 'We need to be fair about this, because this is a global good. Vaccines for this pandemic are not for the wealthy, they are not for the poor, they are for everybody.'Dr Ryan also cautioned schools to be careful about re-opening until community transmission of Covid-19 is under control.'We have to do everything possible to bring our children back to school, and the most effective thing we can do is to stop the disease in our community,' he said.'Because if you control the disease in the community, you can open the schools.'It comes after results from the first phase of clinical trials of Oxford's vaccine were published on last month in the British medical journal, The Lancet.The vaccine — called AZD1222 — produced a 'strong' antibody and T cell immune response in volunteers.Researchers said 'the early results hold promise' but added much more is still needed.Infectious disease scientists warned 'there is still a long way to go' before any vaccine is rolled out.British officials have ordered 340million doses of experimental coronavirus vaccines from a range of firms.Britain's 'buy first, test later' approach may be its best chance of getting a working jab, according to the Vaccine Taskforce chief.
No comments: