Posted on 06/27/2020 8:18:36 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Vaccines have gotten all the attention in the race to fight COVID-19, but there is a major push in the United States to develop antibody therapies to treat coronavirus. There's so much of a push that some scientists think these treatments may be available this year, even before a vaccine.
Antibodies are the proteins the body makes to fight infection.
Since the Victorian era, scientists have harnessed this natural protection for treatments.
During the 1918 flu pandemic, doctors proved convalescent plasma — antibody-filled blood plasma from patients who recovered from the disease — could fight flu. Convalescent plasma has been used to treat severe flu, MERS and SARS and now some US doctors are starting to see some success treating Covid-19, too.
Since there isn't enough donated plasma to treat all patients, modern medicine can fill in the gaps and maybe even improve the process. Scientists can create what are called monoclonal antibodies: lab-made antibodies created specifically to target an infection.
Vaccines have the advantage of working longer than an antibody treatment. Antibody therapies potentially last a month or two and then wear off, but they can be used to temporarily protect vulnerable populations such as nursing home residents or healthcare workers or people with chronic conditions. The therapies could also treat people who are already sick with Covid-19.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of the White House coronavirus task force, said these therapies will be essential in the fight against Covid-19.
"Right now we have a major push on a program to develop monoclonal antibodies, convalescent plasma, and hyperimmune globulin, all of which are founded on the same principle of using an antibody that is directed against the virus for either prophylaxis or treatment," Fauci said in an interview with JAMA on June 8. "I think you're going to see it's going to be for both. We'd like to have available for those who are at risk—the elderly and those with underlying conditions—either monoclonal antibodies or convalescent plasma. That's a very, very high priority."
Vaccines typically take years to develop. The only reason influenza vaccines can be cranked out within a few months is that the vaccine itself has decades of research and use so that changing it up for a new strain of influenza is a (relatively) minor effort. Coronaviruses, however, are not related to influenza and any vaccine effort has to start at step one. So, no matter how urgently we could use a vaccine, I wouldn't count on one being available any time soon (if at all).
Antibodies, on the other hand, only have to be shown to be effective--that they neutralize the virus. Methods for extracting antibodies from serum and preserving their activity have existed for decades. I think that antibodies probably have the potential to reach the clinic faster than any other treatment.
If anyone has people in the hospital with this..and at least one here does who is dying....
this is an interesting article that outlines possibly types of drugs that may help
CNN telling us that the “virus” is growing like weeds and even if we get it under control it will be back right before election, and it’s all Trump’s fault. Thanks for the warning CNN. But why would I ever believe anything you say? Hmmmmmm?
Has anybody asked this joker how many truly effective vaccines have been developed against RNA-based viruses?
I find it fascinating that those that believe that the world is over populated and something must be done about it are also the same ones that are calling for a vaccine the loudest.
When things don’t make sense, there is missing information.
[[I find it fascinating that those that believe that the world is over populated and something must be done about it are also the same ones that are calling for a vaccine the loudest.]]
That is what serving the Evil One does to people- it confuses them to no end- Their minds become mush- they think they are wise- but their words prove they are foolish
BOOKMARK
Is fetal tissue used to make vaccine?
I was told that Moderna’s vaccine uses fetal tissues. I don’t think the other leading ones like the Oxford vaccine does.
costa rica has been using plasma from recovered patients for almost a month. they are working on using horse serum to help manufacture larg quantities.. they also have been using hydroxychloroquine since march and have one of the lowest death rates..they were doing great until last ten days number of cases have increased dramatically many from foreigners from nicaragua..over 25% of their cases are foreigners, no breakdown of country where they are from.
0.43 percent fatality rate..
https://delfino.cr/2020/06/costa-rica-registra-143-nuevos-casos-de-covid-19-y-45-nuevos-recuperados
https://www.larepublica.net/noticia/plasma-equino-contra-covid-19-podria-abrirle-un-negocio-al-pais
My primary concern with using convalescent serum or plasma as a treatment is the potential transmission of bloodborne pathogens. I would prefer to use purified antibody preps.
Those articles you linked are a tad difficult to read, being in Spanish, which I understand well enough to get the gist but not the nuances. It looks like Costa Rica has a low infection rate overall (596 cases per million).
As far as I can tell, Costa Rican researchers are still studying the potential use of horses to produce antibodies. They plan to use the antibodies extracted from horse serum in treating patients.
If I were leading a research project in the use of antibodies to treat Covid-19, I think I would go with hybridomas to produce monoclonal antibodies, and then mix monoclonals to come up with a defined polyclonal mixture. This approach would avoid the problems of potential infection with bloodborne pathogens (from human serum) or allergic reactions (from horse serum).
thanks for the info
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