To my past readers, my apologizes for the long period of inactivity, a bevy of late summer and fall activities (mostly outdoor) including tons of yard work, ongoing garage cleaning and organizing, designing, building, and modifying a ramp for our failing dog who requires nearly constant attention, extensive dental work for some of us, and yes, some golf rounds while the weather permits have all contributed to my absence. I probably will not be fortunate to come close to last year’s record of golfing on the third to the last day of the year. Oh, and I still have to trim roses and a huge clematis, service the push mower (I let the experts service the riding mower), and I have yet to completely get the snow blower ready. The big question now is whether we can /should travel for Thanksgiving while COVID is raging again and Illinois is on or near the top of the list of confirmed cases. Thus, the debate in my mind on what to write on next is settled. I will concentrate on:
- the ongoing search and research for faster and more reliable testing methods of detecting COVID -19
- types of tests and what the results mean
- a safe and reliable vaccine (development of)
A viral test tells you if you have a current infection.
- A positive test means you currently have COVID -19. Isolate yourself at home, wash hands often, wear a mask, and social distance. Contact your healthcare provider if your symptoms get worse.
- A negative test only mean you did not have COVID-19 at the time you were tested.
- An antibody test might tell if you had a past infection. Antibody tests check for antibodies in your blood that your immune system produced in response to viral infection. Antibody tests are available through your healthcare providers and laboratories.
- If you test positive you may have antibodies from COVID-19 or a virus from the same family even though you never felt sick. (asymptomatic) Talk to your healthcare provider.
- If you test negative you may not have ever had COVID-19. Consult your doctor.A viral test tells you if you have a current infection.
Undoubtedly, one of the questions most people ask is, “why does it take so long to get a vaccine for COVID-19” (or any other virus or bacteria for that matter). The diagram above taken from March 18, 2020 edition of the Rockford, IL Register Star is a summary of the overall protocol for vaccine development. First of all, vaccines are given to healthy people (or at least not positive for the disease for which the vaccine is intended). As Dr. David Relman, professor of microbiology and immunology at Stanford University says “you don’t want to make healthy people sick.” So you want to make sure your vaccine is completely safe. Vaccines prime your immune system to fight a potential disease; they don’t treat or cure it. As we know, viruses can only reproduce inside another host cell. Once inside it travels to the nucleus where it hijacks the cell’s genetic machinery and compels it to make more viruses (see essay XXXII). Once in your body viral reproduction occurs; your immune system produces antibodies (various kinds of white blood cells) in response to the antigens released during viral replication
and the war is on. Think about it, when your doctor suspects an infection, he may order a complete blood count to look for an increase in white blood cells (wbc) (Fig I & II).
A vaccination may consist of being inoculated with a weakened form of a virus or killed virus particles that tricks your immune system to think it is the “real thing” thereby producing antibodies thus protecting you from the REAl THINGS. Some vaccines protect you for a lifetime but most do not. Thus, you need one or more booster shots. One of the big questions being addressed now is how long will a COVID-19 shot last?
All new vaccines have to be approved by the FDA and licensed before they can be given to the public. They must first be tested on animals, usually mice, for several factors (Fig. III) before clinical tests can begin on humans. This may take months to years. Currently, several vaccines are in these stages of development. The same article quoted Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health as saying hope for a vaccine could come by year’s end. Also in that article FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn promised that “career scientists, not politicians will decide whether any coronavirus vaccine meets clearly stated standards….” Additionally, Hahn stated that “science will guide our decision. FDA will not permit any pressure from anyone to change that.” As of November 3, 2020 that promise will be a lot easier to enforce as well as a lot of other science guided hopes and dreams. I recall an interview with a doctor on a Chicago sports radio station in which he said that if vaccine development as well as mask wearing and social distancing were guided by scientific principles and not by politics this pandemic would not reach the depth that it has. How true and that’s all I will say on that subject; otherwise this essay would be a full chapter in a small book.
Potential coronavirus vaccines
One type of vaccine that a few months ago held more promise than today is plasma therapy. Remove red and white blood cells and what’s left is essentially an almost clear liquid, plasma which still contains antibodies that were produced by various types of white blood cells. Patients who recovered from C0VID-19 can and have volunteered to donate their blood plasma to be used in vaccine development while the wbc’s, rbc’s, and platelets are returned to their bodies. However, plasma therapy has had a mixed success in the past. It’s also time consuming, and hard to do on a large scale although other methods can take a long time too. (rrstar)
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh under the direction of Louis D. Falo Jr. have developed a vaccine that uses laboratory-mode viral protein to build a person’s immunity to the virus. Antibody production in tests in mice were encouraging. Their research is a follow-up to a vaccine they were developing in 2003 for SARS, another COVID virus but was canceled because the virus was contained in July by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The same group developed a vaccine for MIERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, another COVID virus that jumped from animals to humans. Instead of developing a shot in the arm, their vaccine would consist of a patch with 400 tiny needles worn on the arm. Here’s the strange part; the needles each 0. 5 mm long would consist of a sugar and protein patch. The advantage is that the vaccine doesn’t have to be frozen especially when being shipped to other countries. Additionally it would release a highly concentrated, smaller amount of viral protein. Using DNA molecules made in the lab, the vaccine would prevent the viral protein spikes from entering human cells. . Others say it focuses on treating those already sick rather than preventing infections. Dr. Fauci likes the idea of an upper arm injection. However, he added that science should first demonstrate that COVID antibodies currently administered intravenously work. Those in favor of continued development argue that until a vaccine is available, the shots offer the most plausible method of prevention “Convalescent” plasma is already in widespread use and preliminary data deem it safe. The antibodies can be delivered in a drug called immune-globulin, or Ig in either drip form or in a shot.(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
According to WHO, as of today (Nov. 25, 2020) these are the numbers for:
Preclinical Phase I Phase II Phase III Approved
164 37 17 6 0
In summary, The last 10 months have seen some of the most tumultuous events in modern history, a pandemic that may become endemic, political, social, and racial unrest, raging forest fires in Western United States, and more. But there’s hope on the horizon. The key to our future lies with us. We make most of our problems and with God’s help we can solve them.
References
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),Nov. 20, 2020, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), Atlanta
Johnson , M., April 19, 2020, Researches have developed a potential coronavirus vaccine, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel as read in the Rockford Register Star
Rockford Register Star, March 18, 2020, Gannett Co., Inc., Milwaukee,WI
Welse, E & M. Johnson, April 19, 2020, Early COVID-19, patients try experimental plasma therapy, USA Today as read in the Rockford Register Star,