Coronavirus: How close are we to a vaccine?

When will there be a coronavirus vaccine?

Research is happening at breakneck speed.

There are more than 20 vaccines in development

Would it protect people of all ages?

It will, almost inevitably, be less successful in older people. This is not because of the vaccine itself, but aged immune systems do not respond as well to immunisation. We see this every year with the flu jab.

Will there be side effects?

All medicines, even common pain-killers, have side effects. But without clinical trials it is impossible to know what the side effects of an experimental vaccine may be.

This is something on which regulators will want to keep a close eye.

Who would get a vaccine?

If a vaccine is developed then there will be a limited supply, at least in the early stages so it will be important to prioritise.

Healthcare workers who come into contact with Covid-19 patients would be at the top of the list. The disease is most deadly in older people so they would be a priority if the vaccine was effective in this age group. However, it might be better to vaccinate those who live with or care for the elderly instead.

What about drugs?

Doctors are testing current anti-viral drugs to see if they work against coronavirus. This speeds up research as they are known to be safe to give to people.

Trials are taking place in hospitals in affected countries, but, in February, Dr Bruce Aylward from the World Health Organization, said: “There’s only one drug right now that we think may have real efficacy and that’s remdesivir.”

It was developed as an Ebola drug, but also seems to be able to kill a wide variety of viruses. However, we are still waiting on trial results.

There was much hope a pair of HIV drugs (lopinavir and ritonavir) would be effective

They did not improve recovery, reduce deaths or lower levels of the coronavirus in patients with serious Covid-19. However, as the trial was conducted in extremely sick patients (nearly a quarter died) it may have been too late in the infection for the drugs to work.

Citando ameaça à democracia, opositores de Netanyahu levam batalha à Suprema Corte

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Citando uma ameaça à democracia israelense, adversários do primeiro-ministro Biyamin Netanyahu pediram à Suprema Corte no domingo (22) para bloquear o que caracterizaram como um esforço do governo interino para tomar conta do poder, sob o disfarce de estar combatendo 

Os peticionários pediram que a Corte restaure os poderes plenos do Parlamento, cujo funcionamento normal foi em grande medida bloqueado por seu presidente, Yuli Edelstein, um aliado de Netanyahu. Edelstein alega preocupações com a saúde pública como justificativa.

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O procurador geral Avichai Mandelblit, nomeado para o cargo por Netanyahu, manifestou seus receios em declaração que prestou à corte, destacando “a necessidade vital de possibilitar a supervisão parlamentar do trabalho do governo, especialmente neste momento

O partido de Gantz, um dos peticionários diante da Suprema Corte, respondeu: “Ao mesmo tempo em que prejudica nossa democracia, o ultimato deixa evidente que Netanyahu gostaria de arrastar este país para uma quarta eleição, mesmo quando estamos mergulhados numa crise que exige que atuemos em prol da população, tanto no governo quanto no Parlamento.”

O ministro da Justiça, partidário de Netanyahu, também lançou mão de regulamentos de emergência para restringir as atividades dos tribunais, levando ao adiamento por mais de dois meses do julgamento de Netanyahu por acusações de corrupção. Há acusações crescentes contra o governo por explorar a epidemia de coronavírus para semear o pânico e conservar-se no poder.

Netanyahu rejeita as críticas, acusando seus adversários de praticar politicagem enquanto ele trabalha para salvar vidas e impedir o vírus de devastar o país. Em entrevista que deu à televisão no sábado, ele se comparou ao capitão do Titanic, dizendo que está conduzindo o país entre icebergs.

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Obrigado

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