August 24, 2020

expert reaction to reports Trump is planning on fast-tracking the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine before US election

It has been reported, by the Financial Times and others, that US President Donald Trump is planning on fast-tracking the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine for use in the US before the upcoming US election.

Prof. Angus Dalgleish FMedSci, Principal of the Institute for Cancer Vaccines and Immunotherapy, and Professor of Oncology, St Georges, University of London, said:

“This is clearly an election ploy and perhaps a response to Mr Putin’s sputnik.

“Many vaccines may induce a good immune response and perhaps few side effects. However, the concern is what happens upon challenge.

“The SARS 1 vaccine induced antibody enhancement (ADE) which appears to have been ignored and it must be proven that any COVID vaccine does not do the same before approval.

“The great Maurice Hillman (Head of Merck & Co/MSD’s vaccine programme) once said he couldn’t sleep well until the 3 millionth person had received one of his vaccines without significant side effects!”

Prof Danny Altmann, Professor of Immunology at Imperial College London, said:

“It should be incredibly disturbing to the global medical community to see any potential attempts by any politicians, whether in Russia, the USA or elsewhere, to seek to manipulate, short-circuit or exert influence in any way over the agreed scientific protocols that are in place to carefully evaluate comparative safety, immunogenicity and efficacy of vaccines.

“In decades to come, we won’t remember which politician polled a few more or less votes, but we really won’t forget any failed opportunities to put in place the safest most effective possible global programmes to eradicate this pandemic.”

https://www.ft.com/content/b053f55b-2a8b-436c-8154-0e93dcdb3c1a

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www.sciencemediacentre.org/tag/covid-19

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