US Army develops two novel covid vaccines

[Yazata]

These are novel kinds of vaccines based on nanotechnology. It's based on nanoparticles that reportedly have 24 faces. Each of these faces will have the spike protein from a different coronavirus attached to it. There are two versions, with larger or smaller samples of the spike proteins. They say that each should have its advantages, and both are in clinical trials.

It's coming from the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and it's been getting lots of press. Some of it seems kind of unbelievable, such as how it should work with all current and future covid variants, and how it should work with all other coronaviruses as well like SARS. (The common cold is caused by coronaviruses.) It might actually be true, but it would probably have to be a new modification of the vaccine with the new spike protein attached. But assuming that they can crank them out and manufacture them in quantity, it might be possible to get a new coronavirus shot every year custom designed for that year's new variants.

They say that they haven't tested it against omicron, which appeared too recently, but say it shows promise in trials against delta, earlier variants and original SARS in "non-human primates". (Presumably genetically engineered "humanized" monkeys so that these animals' otherwise completely monkey cells bear the receptors that these viruses exploit in attacking humans and thus fall prey to human diseases.)

"A series of recently published preclinical study results show that the spike ferritin nanoparticle (spfn) covid-19 vaccine developed by researchers at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) not only elicits a potent immune response but may also provide broad protection against SARS-CoV-2 variants of convern as well as other coronaviruses.

Spfn entered Phase 1 human trials in April 2021. Early analyses, expected to conclude this month, will provide insights into whether Spfn's potency and breadth, as demonstrated in preclinical trials, will carry over into humans..."

https://www.army.mil/article/252890/seri...t_strategy

[Syne]

They already try to do that for the flu, but failing to predict the dominant variant is a problem. You can't change vaccine production for a whole season at the drop of a hat, nor wait to see which becomes prevalent.

[Yazata]

They already try to do that for the flu, but failing to predict the dominant variant is a problem. You can't change vaccine production for a whole season at the drop of a hat, nor wait to see which becomes prevalent.

Yeah. I'm inclined to think that covid is on its way to being an endemic disease in humans much like influenza. Both diseases aren't huge dangers to the young, but can be dangerous for seniors. And both diseases will have vaccines for those seniors, with physicians and epidemiologists constantly hoping to play catch up with new variants.

That's the future that we are looking at, provided that governments around the world can wean themselves off all the incessant attempts to instill panic and do an intelligent cost-benefit analysis that will allow them to select policies that can be maintained for the long term without economic devastation or the wholesale elimination of civil liberties.

[Syne]

Yeah. I'm inclined to think that covid is on its way to being an endemic disease in humans much like influenza. Both diseases aren't huge dangers to the young, but can be dangerous for seniors. And both diseases will have vaccines for those seniors, with physicians and epidemiologists constantly hoping to play catch up with new variants.

That's the future that we are looking at, provided that governments around the world can wean themselves off all the incessant attempts to instill panic and do an intelligent cost-benefit analysis that will allow them to select policies that can be maintained for the long term without economic devastation or the wholesale elimination of civil liberties.

That's the hope, but there's a lot of power-hangry (not a typo) politicians and bureaucrats who've gotten a taste for the crack cocaine of fearmongering authoritarianism. When climate change, institutional racism, etc. fail you, an endless pandemic will work.

History is not going to look kindly on this period...unless the wrong victors write it.

[Yazata]

Here's something very critical of all the hype around this new Army vaccine.

The author says that these Army vaccines are only two of over 60 nanoparticle based vaccine candidates under early development, 26 of which have reached clinical trials.

The author reports that the Army's phase-1 clinical trial only has 29 participants, so it's a very small sample. What's more, these participants are all relatively young and presumably without comorbities. People at little risk from covid, in other words. I assume that what's being tested in them is antibody production, not whether the vaccine lowers the risk of hospitalization and death.

So perhaps the bottom line is -- Don't get too excited, just yet.

https://dossier.substack.com/p/does-the-...ve-a-covid

[Magical Realist]

When climate change, institutional racism, etc. fail you, an endless pandemic will work.

Or a big elitist liberal conspiracy..

[Syne]

When climate change, institutional racism, etc. fail you, an endless pandemic will work.

Or a big anti-intellectual liberal conspiracy..

How many times do I have to tell you? There's no need to postulate any conspiracy when individual selfish motives will suffice.
Power hungry individuals will use any excuse to expand their power.

[Magical Realist]

There's no need to postulate any conspiracy when individual selfish motives will suffice.

A conspiracy of power-driven liberals is still a conspiracy. And you thrive on conspiracy theories. It's what you do.

[Syne]

There's no need to postulate any conspiracy when individual selfish motives will suffice.

A conspiracy of power-driven liberals is still a conspiracy. And you thrive on conspiracy theories. It's what you do.

I said "individual," singular. A conspiracy requires multiple people working in concert. Basic English.

[Magical Realist]

There's no need to postulate any conspiracy when individual selfish motives will suffice.

A conspiracy of power-driven liberals is still a conspiracy. And you thrive on conspiracy theories. It's what you do.

I said "individual," singular. A conspiracy requires multiple people working in concert. Basic English.

Power driven liberals would be working in concert. They all share the same goal and enable each other to reach it. What is that goal? According to you it's world domination. The perfect ubiquitous conspiracy theory. It's everywhere in general and yet nowhere in particular.