Deonandan: Cancelling funding for mRNA vaccine is both risky and foolish
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More challenging is the lead time for manufacturing these traditional vaccines. At the very least, many months are needed, which is why the seasonal flu vaccine is often a poor match to circulating strains, resulting in middling efficacy. If an H5N1 pandemic is in our near future, it will not be possible to manufacture sufficient doses of the currently licensed vaccines quickly enough to protect everyone.
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The only proven vaccine technology capable of the kind of rapid production needed to quell a sudden pandemic is the mRNA platform. Five years of refinement over the course of the COVID pandemic have afforded Moderna and Pfizer a kind of confident fluency in their development and deployment acumen. Other companies, such as Arcturus Therapeutics, CureVac, and Sanofi have since adopted the technology as well.
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Keeping up with mutations
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Another consideration is viral mutation. If H5N1 makes the mutational leap to sustained human-to-human transmission, it will be because its genetic makeup will have changed slightly enough to make that happen. In other words, the virus will be measurably different from that used to create the currently licensed formulations, some of which are limitedly stockpiled by governments.
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The mRNA platform will be needed to quickly pivot to targeting the new viral formulation. It can do so with much more adeptness and fluidity than the lumbering egg- and cell-incubated vaccines currently stockpiled. Remember: the first COVID mRNA vaccine was finalized just 48 hours after scientists sequenced the genetic code of the virus that causes COVID.
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RFK Jr.'s decision to cancel this funding is shortsighted and seemingly driven by skewed and nonsensical antivax perceptions. It comes at a time when Moderna's investigational pandemic influenza vaccine, called 'mRNA-1018' had already demonstrated safety through early clinical trials.
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Perhaps this is an opportunity for other countries — such as Canada — to fill the funding void and claim the financial and societal benefits of this transformational technology.
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7 hours ago
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Media Contact Company Name: DelveInsight Business Research LLP Contact Person: Ankit Nigam Email: Send Email Phone: +14699457679 Address: 304 S. Jones Blvd #2432 City: Albany State: New York Country: United States Website:
Global News
a day ago
- Global News
RFK Jr. removes all 17 members of U.S. vaccine advisory panel
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday removed every member of a scientific committee that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on how to use vaccines and pledged to replace them with his own picks. Major physicians and public health groups criticized the move to oust all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Kennedy, who was one of the nation's leading anti-vaccine activists before becoming the nation's top health official, has not said who he would appoint to the panel, but said it would convene in just two weeks in Atlanta. Although it's typically not viewed as a partisan board, the Biden administration had installed the entire committee. 'Without removing the current members, the current Trump administration would not have been able to appoint a majority of new members until 2028,' Kennedy wrote in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece. 'A clean sweep is needed to re-establish public confidence in vaccine science.' Story continues below advertisement Kennedy said the committee members had too many conflicts of interest. Committee members routinely disclose any possible conflicts at the start of public meetings. Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, called Kennedy's mass ouster 'a coup.' 'It's not how democracies work. It's not good for the health of the nation,' Benjamin told The Associated Press. 0:37 RFK announces COVID vaccine removal from immunization schedule for pregnant women and children Benjamin said the move raises real concerns about whether future committee members will be viewed as impartial. He added that Kennedy is going against what he told lawmakers and the public, and the public health association plans to watch Kennedy 'like a hawk.' Get weekly health news Receive the latest medical news and health information delivered to you every Sunday. Sign up for weekly health newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'He is breaking a promise,' Benjamin said. 'He said he wasn't going to do this.' Dr. Bruce A. Scott, president of the American Medical Association, called the committee a trusted source of science- and data-driven advice and said Kennedy's move, coupled with declining vaccination rates across the country, will help drive an increase in vaccine-preventable diseases. Story continues below advertisement 'Today's action to remove the 17 sitting members of ACIP undermines that trust and upends a transparent process that has saved countless lives,' Scott said in a statement. Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a doctor who had expressed reservations about Kennedy's nomination but voted to install him as the nation's health secretary nonetheless, said he had spoken with Kennedy moments after the announcement. 'Of course, now the fear is that the ACIP will be filled up with people who know nothing about vaccines except suspicion,' Cassidy said in a social media post. 'I've just spoken with Secretary Kennedy, and I'll continue to talk with him to ensure this is not the case.' 9:34 RFK Jr. and Elizabeth Warren get into heated debate over vaccine question at confirmation hearing The committee had been in a state of flux since Kennedy took over. Its first meeting this year had been delayed when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services abruptly postponed its February meeting. Story continues below advertisement During Kennedy's confirmation, Cassidy had expressed concerns about preserving the committee, saying he had sought assurances that Kennedy would keep the panel's current vaccine recommendations. Kennedy did not stick to that. He recently took the unusual step of changing COVID-19 recommendations without first consulting the advisers. The webpage that featured the committee's members was deleted Monday evening, shortly after Kennedy's announcement.
