The world has crossed a grim milestone of 1 million deaths caused by COVID-19, but there’s hope—because each day brings news of progress in the race to develop vaccines and therapeutics. BIO’s Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath recently appeared on CNN to give us an update on where things stand.
On vaccines, there’s a lot of good news to report.Johnson & Johnson recently launched a global phase 3 trial, while Moderna said its candidate demonstrates “potent neutralization responses” in older patients.
These are just two of 180 vaccine candidates, nine of which are in late-stage trials, Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath told CNN.
We don’t know yet if a vaccine will provide lifelong immunity or if we’ll need annual shots like the flu vaccine, “but it’s great to have one-dose candidates and two-dose candidates if they get the job done,” she continued.
We’re also seeing progress in therapeutics—including monoclonal antibodies, polyclonal antibodies, and convalescent plasma, all of which could “be incredibly important not just to get us to an eventual vaccine but also to help in the cases of people who break through and have an infection.”
A major challenge? Vaccine hesitancy.An Axios-Ipsos poll found 6 in 10 Americans don’t want to take a first-generation COVID-19 vaccine as soon as it’s available, an increase from the end of August.
Dr. Michelle’s Diagnosis: The American public is seeing that our politicians are sometimes speaking about the vaccine as though it’s a political tool, when in reality, it’s science, it’s medicine. And we need to leave it to the scientists to get this right. – BIO President & CEO Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath
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