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2022-05-05
FDA to create training program to inspect more mRNA vaccine manufacturing
This is a news story from Endpoints News by Josh Sullivan. With new faith being poured into mRNA vaccines, a new training program is being developed to help with the manufacturing process. This program will entail learning the application of mRNA vaccines, as well as laboratory training. BioNTech, Pfizer’s partner in its Covid-19 vaccine efforts, recently revealed that it is paying Matinas BioPharma to gain exclusive access to its lipid nanocrystal drug delivery platform for the oral delivery of mRNA. It also was one of the first companies to announce plans for the massive mRNA manufacturing sites that are being built. BioNTech plans to piggyback off the success of the technology by pivoting to work on malaria vaccines once the Covid-19 pandemic has subsided. -
2022-04-15
Moderna is Developing Two New Vaccines-- And One Could Protect Against the Common Cold
This is a news story by health.com written by Alyssa Hui. This story is about Moderna expanding its biotechnology into creating new vaccines using similar techniques the COVID vaccines have used. One of these vaccines will be used to help combat RSV, which is a virus that hospitalizes an average of 177,000 adults per year, according to the CDC. Another illness that Moderna is looking to use vaccines against are four other endemic human coronaviruses. Moderna does not claim they offer 100% guaranteed protection, but that they can benefit people greatly for reducing chances of contracting certain illnesses. Moderna wants to ensure that the vaccines are safe and will go through testing procedures to do so. They are hoping that there will be more uses for mRNA style vaccines in the future, and not just for the coronavirus. -
2021-01-20
WHO explains the Covid-19 vaccine on Tic Tok
The World Health Organization is sending out public announcements to encourage people to trust the Covid-19 vaccine. -
2020-11-18
"The End of the Pandemic Is Now in Sight" - The Atlantic Monthly
With the development of two viable COVID-19 vaccines, it appears that the end of the pandemic appears to be at hand in the near future. In an article for the Atlantic Monthly magazine, journalist Sarah Zhang explains how these viable vaccines were developed using new technologies and how the resolution of the pandemic is now more dependent on policy choices made by political leaders, namely the President of the United States. During the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic, medical professionals, epidemiologists, and vaccinologists were in the dark about the symptoms, treatability, and curability of the disease. After months of intense hands-on experience and in-depth genomic research, the companies Pfizer and Moderna have developed viable vaccine candidates. But these vaccines are different from typical vaccines: they are mRNA vaccines. This means that they work by injecting mRNA which encodes viral proteins, rather than injecting a weakened or dead SARS-CoV-2 virus. mRNA vaccines, according to Zhang, were once thought to be potentially unviable, but the positive preliminary results of the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines may mark the beginning of a new era of vaccine research and development. In the future, Zhang says, mRNA vaccines may be developed for the Zika virus or for personalized forms of cancer. However, a major drawback of mRNA vaccines is their fragility, as they require extremely cold temperatures to be preserved. Now that these vaccines may be available for public use in the near future, it is up to the United States' political leadership to formulate policies to promote the vaccination of the populace and the mitigation of COVID-19 infections during the winter. According to Zhang, "Every infection we prevent now—through masking and social distancing—is an infection that can, eventually, be prevented forever through vaccines."