Scientists are worried that the rush to develop a coronavirus vaccine could increase the risk of ‘vaccine enhancement,’ where the vaccine could make the disease worse when a vaccinated person is infected
CHICAGO - Drugmakers are working as quickly as possible to develop a vaccine to combat the rapidly spreading coronavirus that has infected more than 100,000 people worldwide.
Normally, researchers would take months to test for the possibility of vaccine enhancement in animals. Given the urgency to stem the spread of the new coronavirus, some drugmakers are moving straight into small-scale human tests, without waiting for the completion of such animal tests. Hotez testified last week before the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space and Technology about the need for sustained funding for vaccine research. There remains no vaccine for any of the new coronaviruses that have caused outbreaks in the past 20 years.
The conclusion of that meeting, which was not open to media, has not been officially publicized by the WHO. It does not reflect any official position adopted by the WHO, a United Nations body whose job it is to help shape global health policy. Biotechnology company Moderna Inc, which is working with the U.S.-funded National Institutes of Health , is the closest to human testing, announcing plans to start a trial with 45 people in Seattle this month.
Hotez said he was surprised human trials were going ahead. “If there is immune enhancement in laboratory animals vaccinated with the Moderna vaccine, that’s a showstopper,” he said. The Moderna/NIH trial is enrolling patients at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle. The choice of location, made several weeks ago, could prove to be problematic.
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