Solving COVID: September 30, 2020

1. WHO approves rapid coronavirus tests for lower income countries

Rapid and affordable coronavirus antigen tests from two different companies — SD BioSensor in South Korea and Abbott in the U.S. — will soon be distributed across the world as part of the global Access to Covid Tools initiative, which was launched in March. The World Health Organization has granted BioSensor's test emergency approval and is expected to soon do so for Abbott's, with 20 percent of their production going to lower income countries. The WHO's Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove explained Monday that the tests are crucial because of their turnaround time, which is just 15 to 30 minutes, and the fact that they don't need to be taken to labs to determine a result. Faster testing will likely play a significant role in helping countries with less access to reliable diagnostic tools combat outbreaks.

The Guardian

2. Novavax starts phase 3 testing of promising coronavirus vaccine

Novavax announced Thursday that it would start final-stage testing of its coronavirus vaccine candidate in the United Kingdom, with another big trial launching in the United States in October. The U.K. phase-three trial will enroll up to 10,000 people, half getting two doses of the vaccine 21 days apart, and the others receiving a placebo. Novavax is several months behind leading contenders in the race to approve a coronavirus vaccine, but its candidate proved particularly promising in early trials. It is the fifth late-stage trial by a company supported by the U.S. government's Operation Warp Speed vaccine push, and the 11th worldwide. Novavax has never brought a vaccine to market but sealed a $1.6 billion deal with the federal government in July to develop its vaccine.

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The New York Times

3. Moderna coronavirus vaccine shows promise in older adults

Researchers said Tuesday that Moderna's coronavirus vaccine candidate produced virus-neutralizing antibodies in older adults that were similar to levels in younger adults. The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, also found that side effects from the vaccine were similar to those from high-dose flu shots. The side effects included headache, fatigue, body aches, and chills. "They might feel off or have a fever," said Dr. Evan Anderson, one of the study's lead researchers from Emory University in Atlanta. Anderson said the findings were reassuring, because immunity normally weakens with age. Moderna is testing the higher doses it researched in a large Phase III trial, the last hurdle before it can request emergency authorization or approval.

Reuters

4. Johnson & Johnson's early vaccine trial results show most participants developed strong immune response

Johnson & Johnson announced the start of phase three of its coronavirus vaccine trial, citing "positive interim results" from earlier stages of its study. The pharmaceutical giant reported that 99 percent of the participants between the ages of 18 and 55 in early-to-mid stage clinical trials developed neutralizing antibodies against the virus. The analysis also found that most of the side effects associated with the vaccine were mild and resolved within a matter of days. It wasn't clear, however, whether participants over 65 were well protected since immune response results were available for only 15 people in that demographic. Additionally, the rate of adverse reactions — like fatigue and muscle aches — to the vaccine in that age group was just 36 percent, far lower than those seen in 64 percent of the younger participants. That might sound like good news, but it actually suggests the immune response in older people may be weaker.

CNN Reuters

5. The coronavirus may have 'one big trick.' Scientists are learning how to stop it.

The coronavirus appears to have "one big trick," Shane Crotty, a professor at the Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology, told Bloomberg. That trick — avoiding the human body's "initial innate immune response for a significant period of time," and, particularly, the response of a substance called interferon that typically helps orchestrate the defense against viral pathogens — is linked to more severe cases. Indeed, new studies published in Science found that an insufficient amount of interferon could signal a more dangerous infection. The good news is that researchers see potential for interferon-based therapies, which are typically used in the early stages of a viral infection when it's easier to avoid life-threatening respiratory failure. Now, dozens of studies focusing on interferon treatments are recruiting COVID-19 patients.

Bloomberg Science