COVID-19 vaccines and treatments nationalism: Challenges for low-income countries and the attainment of the SDGs.
TL;DR: The paper recommends the continued mobilisation by the World Health Organisation and other key stakeholders in supporting the GAVI vaccine alliance and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (COVAX) global vaccines initiative that seeks to make two billion vaccine doses available to 92 low and middle-income countries by December 2021.
Abstract: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (AfSD) has the vision to leave no one behind, particularly low-income countries. Yet COVID-19 seems to have brought up new rules and approaches. Through document and critical discourse analysis, it emerges that there has been a surge in COVID-19 vaccines and treatments nationalism. Global solidarity is threatened, with the USA, United Kingdom, European Union and Japan having secured 1.3 billion doses of potential vaccines as of August 2020. Vaccines ran out even before their approval with three candidates from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca having shown good Phase III results in November 2020. Rich countries have gone years ahead in advance vaccines and treatments purchases. This is a testimony that the 2030 AfSD, especially SDG 3 focusing on health will be difficult to achieve. Low-income countries are left gasping for survival as the COVID-19 pandemic relegates them further into extreme poverty and deeper inequality. The paper recommends the continued mobilisation by the World Health Organisation and other key stakeholders in supporting the GAVI vaccine alliance and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (COVAX) global vaccines initiative that seeks to make two billion vaccine doses available to 92 low and middle-income countries by December 2021.
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TL;DR: The authors examined the vaccine strategies and technical platforms used for the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of those used for previous emerging and reemerging infectious diseases and pandemics may offer some mutually beneficial lessons.
Abstract: Examination of the vaccine strategies and technical platforms used for the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of those used for previous emerging and reemerging infectious diseases and pandemics may offer some mutually beneficial lessons. The unprecedented scale and rapidity of dissemination of recent emerging infectious diseases pose new challenges for vaccine developers, regulators, health authorities and political constituencies. Vaccine manufacturing and distribution are complex and challenging. While speed is essential, clinical development to emergency use authorization and licensure, pharmacovigilance of vaccine safety and surveillance of virus variants are also critical. Access to vaccines and vaccination needs to be prioritized in low- and middle-income countries. The combination of these factors will weigh heavily on the ultimate success of efforts to bring the current and any future emerging infectious disease pandemics to a close.
138 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the most relevant mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, discusses VE against VOCs, presents rare adverse events after Covid-19 vaccination and introduces some promising Covid19 vaccine candidates.
Abstract: Since the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in December 2019, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the number of confirmed infections has risen to more than 242 million worldwide, with nearly 5 million deaths. Currently, nine Covid-19 vaccine candidates based on the original Wuhan-Hu-1 strain are at the forefront of vaccine research. All nine had an efficacy over 50% against symptomatic Covid-19 disease: NVX-CoV2373 (∼96%), BNT162b2 (∼95%), mRNA-1273 (∼94%), Sputnik V (∼92%), AZD1222 (∼81%), BBIBP-CorV (∼79%), Covaxin (∼78%), Ad26.CoV.S (∼66%) and CoronaVac (∼51%). However, vaccine efficacy (VE) can be jeopardised by the rapid emergence and spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) that could escape from neutralising antibodies and/or cell-mediated immunity. Rare adverse events have also been reported soon after administration of viral vector and mRNA vaccines. Although many Covid-19 vaccines have been developed, additional effective vaccines are still needed to meet the global demand. Promising Covid-19 vaccines such as WIBP-CorV, AD5-nCOV, ZyCoV-D, CVnCoV, EpiVacCorona and ZF2001 have advanced to clinical studies. This review describes the most relevant mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, discusses VE against VOCs, presents rare adverse events after Covid-19 vaccination and introduces some promising Covid-19 vaccine candidates.
108 citations
Posted Content•
TL;DR: Here is a proposal for global cooperation to ensure equitable distribution of vaccines and therapies for COViD-19, with a common global interest.
Abstract: Scientists from across the globe are racing to develop effective vaccines and therapeutics for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Plans are beginning to emerge for ensuring the equitable worldwide distribution of vaccines and therapeutics resulting from biomedical innovations. Absent broad agreement and buy-in on those plans, governments may prioritize their own populations, resulting in inequitable distribution of medical products both within and among countries. During the 2009 influenza A(H1N1) pandemic, wealthy nations bought virtually all vaccine supplies. Even after the WHO appealed for donations, supplies for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) were limited. The White House may have already sought exclusive access to a COVID-19 vaccine candidate. European and Asian countries have imposed export controls on personal protective equipment and ventilators, with similar export controls likely to extend to COVID-19 vaccine and therapeutic stocks.
The development and widespread distribution of COVID-19 medical treatments are a common global interest. Here we offer a proposal for global cooperation to ensure equitable distribution of vaccines and therapies for COViD-19.
57 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used an inclusive development and DPSIR lens to assess the literature and found that the current response prioritises the "state" and "impact" concerns of wealthier classes at the expense of the remainder of the world population, and a return to business-as-usual using government funding will lead to a vicious cycle of further ecological degradation, socioeconomic inequality and domestic abuse that assist in exacerbating the drivers of the pandemic.
49 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a narrative review was conducted to shed light on vaccine diplomacy's defining attributes and effects in the context of COVID-19 vaccine distribution and dissemination, and the authors showed that while both vaccine empathy and vaccine diplomacy have their strengths and weaknesses, they all have great potential to improve vaccine equality, particularly amid fast-developing and ever-evolving global health crises such as COVID19.
47 citations
References
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TL;DR: A detailed overview of mRNA vaccines is provided and future directions and challenges in advancing this promising vaccine platform to widespread therapeutic use are considered.
Abstract: mRNA vaccines represent a promising alternative to conventional vaccine approaches because of their high potency, capacity for rapid development and potential for low-cost manufacture and safe administration. However, their application has until recently been restricted by the instability and inefficient in vivo delivery of mRNA. Recent technological advances have now largely overcome these issues, and multiple mRNA vaccine platforms against infectious diseases and several types of cancer have demonstrated encouraging results in both animal models and humans. This Review provides a detailed overview of mRNA vaccines and considers future directions and challenges in advancing this promising vaccine platform to widespread therapeutic use.
2,274 citations
"COVID-19 vaccines and treatments na..." refers background in this paper
...The mRNA is said to instruct human cells to build a wall of protein to trigger an immune response to COVID-19 (Pardi et al., 2018)....
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TL;DR: An overview of remdesivir’s discovery, mechanism of action, and the current studies exploring its clinical effectiveness is provided.
Abstract: The global pandemic of SARS-CoV-2, the causative viral pathogen of COVID-19, has driven the biomedical community to action—to uncover and develop antiviral interventions. One potential therapeutic ...
629 citations
"COVID-19 vaccines and treatments na..." refers background in this paper
...Two clinical trials had been initiated in China and clinical trials were registered at Capital Medical University to test if the remdesivir is safe and effective (Eastman et al., 2020)....
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TL;DR: Eight ways in which scientists hope to provide immunity to SARS-CoV-2 .
Abstract: Eight ways in which scientists hope to provide immunity to SARS-CoV-2 . Eight ways in which scientists hope to provide immunity to SARS-CoV-2 .
382 citations
"COVID-19 vaccines and treatments na..." refers background in this paper
...Other platforms include DNA vaccines where protein, as a foreign cell, is introduced into the body to increase immunity against the pathogen (Callaway, 2020)....
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TL;DR: Currently registered interventional clinical trials for the treatment and prevention of COVID-19 are reviewed to provide an overall summary and insight into the global response.
309 citations
"COVID-19 vaccines and treatments na..." refers background in this paper
...Lopinavir and ritonavir is the other drugs combination that was approved by the FDA, as well as hydroxychloroquine (Lythgoe & Middleton, 2020)....
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TL;DR: The currently available literature on the epidemiology, etiology, vulnerability, preparedness and economic impact of COVID-19 in Africa, which could be useful and provide necessary information on ongoing CO VID-19 pandemics in the continent are collected and summarized.
Abstract: The recently emerged novel coronavirus, "severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2)", caused a highly contagious disease called coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The virus was first reported from Wuhan city in China in December, 2019, which in less than three months spread throughout the globe and was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11th of March, 2020. So far, the ongoing pandemic severely damaged the world's most developed countries and is becoming a major threat for low- and middle-income countries. The poorest continent, Africa with the most vulnerable populations to infectious diseases, is predicted to be significantly affected by the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. Therefore, in this review we collected and summarized the currently available literature on the epidemiology, etiology, vulnerability, preparedness and economic impact of COVID-19 in Africa, which could be useful and provide necessary information on ongoing COVID-19 pandemics in the continent. We also briefly summarized the concomitance of the COVID-19 pandemic and global warming.
296 citations
"COVID-19 vaccines and treatments na..." refers background in this paper
...This is likely to collapse many health care systems that were already stressed in developing countries, derailing plans to attain universal health by 2030 (Lone & Ahmad, 2020)....
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...Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in December 2019, which was ultimately named SARSCoV-2 (COVID-19) and declared a pandemic on 11 March 2020 by the WHO (Lone & Ahmad, 2020), there has been visible growth in new nationalism and protectionism across the world (Bieber, 2020)....
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