Despite all justified criticism of the US government’s leadership under President Donald Trump during the crisis, Operation Warp Speed ​​is a testimony that almost anything is possible if resources are used correctly.

Quick US Progress on COVID Vaccines

The second vaccine against the coronavirus was released in the United States earlier this week. Manufacturer Moderna plans to deliver up to 20 million doses by the end of December. The US health authority FDA had already approved the vaccine on Friday.

Previously, 128,000 Americans had received their COVID vaccination approved by the US pharmaceutical company Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech.

Never before has a vaccine against a new virus been developed in such a short amount of time. This is an historic success. It is also a desperately needed one, as the number of COVID infections continues to rise rapidly.

The High Death Toll of COVID-19

Seventy-seven million people have been recorded as infected with COVID-19 worldwide and 1.7 million have died from the virus to date. The US alone now has over 319,000 COVID-19 related deaths. Every day an average of 2,000 Americans die from the effects of the virus, as many as on 9/11.

The vaccinations offer a bright spot in an otherwise brutally mismanaged crisis under the Trump administration. After all, his government launched Operation Warp Speed.

Operation Warp Speed

The project ensured that the authorities, scientists, and companies’ efforts led together to achieve the goal more smoothly than ever. Most importantly, the government allocated $14 billion into its fight for a vaccine.

For example, Moderna has received over $ 4 billion in direct research aid. Moreover, Operation Warp Speed ​​helped Pfizer and its German partner, with the US government pledging $ 2 billion in doses when the new vaccine was not yet proven effective.

Trump has never been shy about questioning scientific findings and arguably exacerbated the pandemic’s impact by downplaying the virus as merely the flu, not urging Americans to wear masks for months and holding super spreader events – most famously in the Rose Garden. However it was also Trump who ensured that a process that generally takes up to ten years and more was completed in record time.

Even Biden is Giving the Trump Administration Credit

Even President-elect Joe Biden has credited the Trump administration, saying it deserved “some credit for getting us off the ground with Operation Warp Speed.”

The fact that the pandemic broke out during his now lost battle for re-election certainly played an important role. Trump was hoping for the medical breakthrough to outshine his other failures in crisis management.

Accordingly, he reacted angrily when Pfizer published the excellent results of clinical studies only after the election date on November 3. However, selfish motivation doesn’t take away from Trump’s triumph.

A Glimmer of Hope

For the politically and socially-torn US, the pioneering act is a glimmer of hope and not only because of COVID-19. Operation Warp Speed ​​shows that Washington is still capable of great things when it matters. The allies of the superpower still trust this.

China and Russia have also developed vaccinations and started administering them earlier. However, Western industrialized nations continue to put their faith in the largely US-supported initiative. Biden can build on this basis.

Last but not least, the nation owes its success to the government employees who Trump himself so often reviled. The state apparatus that he and his supporters wanted so much to slander, and which, indeed, often appears utterly paralyzed, has provided the president with his only real success in fighting the pandemic – despite the fact that he currently negates federal employees by clinging on to his claim of an allegedly stolen election.

L'articolo Operation Warp Speed: Trump’s COVID Success proviene da InsideOver.

The first COVID-19 vaccines are likely to soon be approved in both Europe and the US. With wealthy industrial nations are already securing supplies, the question arises as to whether economically developing countries will also get immediate access.

Timeframe for Vaccine Release in EU and US

The good news about possible vaccines against the coronavirus is mounting. The manufacturers BioNtech, Moderna, and Pfizer, report promising results from tests. Two vaccines could potentially be approved in Europe and the US in December.

Nevertheless, it is already known that the finished vaccines are far from being able to meet public demand, at least in the first few months.

This raises the question of who receives the vaccine first and who will have to wait. Some of the world’s wealthiest nations have already secured large quantities of the two most promising vaccines.

Vaccine Supply is Limited

In fact, BioNtech and Pfizer have already sold more than 570 million doses: 200 million to the European Union and 100 million to the United States. An additional 100 million for the EU and 500 million for the US can be purchased optionally.

Moderna, a third manufacturer, expects to manufacture at least 500 million doses – possibly up to one billion doses per year. At the same time, Moderna has already committed 100 million doses to the US and has also agreed to an optional delivery of 400 million. Canada, Japan, Qatar, Great Britain, Israel, and Switzerland have secured another 100 million doses. The EU is currently negotiating with Moderna.

With the quantities allocated towards wealthy nations, the rest of the world appears to be getting shut out, and some voices are calling for rich countries to share their vaccine supply with struggling nations.

Introducing Covax

To overcome this issue, Covax was created by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Global Vaccination Alliance (GAVI), and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness (CEPI). Almost all countries in the world have now declared that they support the initiative, except for the US and Russia.

Nevertheless, it seems realistic that sufficient vaccines can be produced for all people worldwide in the medium term, as many different vaccines are being developed. Almost 50 agents are currently being tested in clinical studies, and around a dozen have already reached the final phase 3.

The Oxford University Vaccine

Experts are currently excited about further results from extensive studies by other manufacturers. The first data are now also available for the Oxford University vaccine, which it is developing together with AstraZeneca’s British pharmaceutical company.

AstraZeneca cooperates with several manufacturers worldwide in order to be able to provide large quantities. The Serum Institute of India alone is expected to produce around one billion doses by the end of 2021. In total, the group has already concluded production and supply agreements for more than three billion doses, with a significant provision included for poorer countries. The Covax initiative is to receive 300 million doses.

Other pharmaceutical giants such as Johnson & Johnson or GSK and Sanofi — who are jointly developing a vaccine — aim for approval in the first half of 2021.

They, too, have pledged to deliver hundreds of millions of doses to Covax. In principle, Pfizer and BioNtech, as well as Moderna, also seek to support the initiative. However, they have not yet pledged specific quantities.

There are also several Chinese and Russian manufacturers, as well as Novavax in the US and Curevac in Germany. They, too, are expected to produce hundreds of millions of doses, provided their vaccine is approved, of course.

Covax Challenges Remain

Manufacturers can currently submit offers for the Covax initiative, with the goal to distribute two billion doses.

However, the range of possible vaccines alone appears insufficient. Covax also needs sufficient money. So far, several countries, as well as some private companies and foundations, have pledged almost five billion dollars. However, according to the WHO, at least eleven billion dollars are necessary to buy and distribute the targeted two billion doses.

Accordingly, the G20’s communique stated that they were “determined to tackle the remaining financial requirements.”

L'articolo Will Only Wealthy Nations Receive COVID-19 Vaccines? proviene da InsideOver.

The first phase of this world-changing pandemic ended up with two clear winners: China, which got to whitewash its image via a world-extended humanitarian effort that proved fundamental for the promotion of the so-called Health Silk Road, and Turkey, which got to extend further its influence over the Balkans, the Muslim world and Central Asia.

US and Russia Get Involved

The United States tried to sabotage China’s unexpectedly quick recovery by sending tons of aid to the European Union – the two countries’ main battlefield – and by promoting a war of narratives. Russia, for its part, opted for an initial isolationist policy and started to reply to the help requests of its allies and strategic partners at a later stage, after having understood the danger of Turkey’s incursions into the Balkans and the post-Soviet space.

But concurrent with the evergreen law of historical recurrence, Russia is used to feeling the blow and drawing back at first only to later react with a game-changing total mobilization effort. That’s why, possibly, it has been the Kremlin that put an end to the vaccine race on August 11 by announcing the registration of the successfully-tested Sputnik V.

One Billion Doses

The announcement was made on August 11 by Russian President Vladimir Putin and received a mixed welcome. The West immediately started questioning the reliability and effectiveness of the Russian vaccine, which has been symbolically named Sputnik V after the Soviet space program, whereas the main leaders of the Global South made contact with the Kremlin to arrange the first pre-orders.

By the end of August the Russian government confirmed that it had received orders for about one billions doses of Sputnik V – all of them coming from the developing world, from Brazil and Mexico to India and Philippines. The European Union members and most Western-aligned countries are likely to put the political interest before their citizens’ well-being, and accordingly they are going to wait for an American-made, EU-made or Israeli-made vaccine, but in no way will doing so actually work against the Kremlin’s agenda.

Russia Doesn’t Need the West to be Onboard

Indeed, the Moscow-based Gamaleya National Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology did not develop the Sputnik V hopefully to convince the West of Russia’s good intentions but to recover the ground lost during the first phase of the pandemic. It comes as no surprise that the first countries to be approached, and by which the Kremlin itself has been approached, belong to the post-Soviet space and, more broadly, to the Global South; these same countries will also have the privilege of receiving their orders in record time.

As of mid-September the list of Sputnik V-interested countries belonging to the former USSR is comprised of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Moldova and Belarus. Kazakhstan is set to receive an initial load of more than two million doses and also secured “a guaranteed amount of the Sputnik V vaccine after it passes all trials.” Uzbekistan green-lighted the extraordinary purchase of 35 million doses, and Moldova announced the coming import of unknown amounts of the vaccine.

Regaining a Grip on the Post-Soviet Space

In short, Sputnik V will be Russia’s keystone for keep controlling the post-Soviet space while increasing its influence and improving its image in the Global South, especially in Africa and Asia. Western pressure will follow but they won’t change the fact that the first people to be vaccinated all over the world are going to be treated with the Sputnik V medicine. National economies will be saved from the nightmare of new lockdowns and the research centers of dozens of countries, from Kazakhstan to Nigeria, are working on knowledge exchange programs with Russian scientists.

No further Western development will be able to change the effects of this groundbreaking diplomatic victory, only the potential discovery that the vaccine does not work properly or effectively.

The Belarus Dilemma

Of great importance is the case of the ever-rebellious Belarus, whose long-lasting President Aleksandr Lukashenko decided to put an end to its anti-Russian stand in the aftermath of the post-election disorders and is now trying to resume high-quality bilateral relations with Russia through a flirtatious diplomacy. After releasing the Wagner Group members detained in late July and accusing the West of being behind a color revolution attempt Lukashenko travelled to Sochi to meet Putin on September 14 and discuss Minsk’s future geopolitical alignment.

In Sochi, Lukashenko got a 1.5 billion dollar loan and the promise to receive the vaccine by mid-October, giving Belarus the privilege to be one of the first countries in the world to start a COVID-19 mass vaccination. These two events would have been impossible if the EU-sponsored regime change attempt had never taken place:

Lukashenko was actually very interested in changing the status quo and moving his country away from the Russian sphere of influence as shown by the historical purchase of American oil and by the Russophobic-dominated election campaign. The decision to try a Euromaidan 2.0 proved a severe mistake dictated by impatience, shortsightedness and scarce knowledge of the Belarusian panorama, which is pretty far from the Ukrainian situation.

Now, with the EU openly supporting a power transition led by the opposition – which has been granted asylum in Poland and Lithuania, and willing to implement a sanctions-regime against Lukashenko-loyal statesmen and business people –  Russia has found in the Sputnik V the ultimate tool with which to re-exert full control over its wayward backyard.

Lukashenko’s perception of Russia is going to be shaped profoundly by the set of events which took place between August and September and whoever will follow him must take into account the fundamental role played by Putin in avoiding a Ukraine-style scenario, which seemed very likely in the first days of protests, and in helping the country face the COVID19-related crisis and economic turmoil despite the misunderstandings with the leadership.

The Balkans

The Western Balkans are another geopolitical theater for which the Sputnik V was made. Indeed, it’s here, in the former Yugoslavia that Turkey and the EU carried out a dual strategy based on the sending of aid, on Turkey’s part, and of money and loans, on the EU’s part. Complementarity was the key-word of the West’s strategy for the Balkans, a region from which Russia has been almost completely ousted over the years.

The Kremlin’s remaining satellites in the Western Balkans are Serbia, Bosnia’s Serbian Entity (Republika Srpska), and to a lesser extent Montenegro, where the Russo-Serbian axis is precluded from politics but keeps exerting a powerful cultural hegemony via the Orthodox Church. It is no surprise that Serbia and Bosnia were targeted by massive humanitarian campaigns by Turkey and the EU: the goal was to take advantage of the pandemic to lay the foundations for a new order in the after-crisis.

The Kremlin managed not to lose the battle for the Western Balkans due to the vital support provided by China, which sent tons of aid to the Balkans at Russia’s request as well as to Belarus, Moldova, Venezuela and other Russian-aligned countries. The outcome of the joint efforts was the securing of Serbia and the creation of a polarized situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The changes brought Bosnia more and more close to the EU and made Turkey and the Republika Srpska increasingly reliant on – and friendly with – the Moscow-Beijing-Belgrade trio.

After a months-long struggle, the battle for the Western Balkans seems close to an end: Republika Srpska announced the intention to order up to one million doses from Russia by the end of the year, and Serbia is likely to follow, as their leader Aleksandar Vucic recently pointed out.

The Avifavir

Against the background of the Sputnik V revolution, Russia is recording another significant victory via the drug Avifavir. It is a COVID-19 treatment drug which is both cheap and reliable. The medication is manufactured by the Russian company ChemRar and, again, the first of its kind to be registered. The quality-price ratio of Avifavir is also convincing an increasing number of countries — including some in the EU — to order millions of doses.

As of mid-September, ChemRar sold the drug to six countries and received orders from 17 countries. Again it is no surprise that the first countries which were approached by the Kremlin – or by which the Kremlin was approached regarding Avifavir – belonged in large part to the post-Soviet space, namely Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Sputnik V and Avifavir were not made to win the race for hegemony over the world – that is a competition which is being fought between the United States and China – but to keep control over the Russosphere and help improve Russia’s position in the Global South.

L'articolo Sputnik-V Vaccine Will Help Russia Rule Over the Global South proviene da InsideOver.

Russia has become the world’s first country to approve a vaccine against COVID-19. The international response, however, has been consistently negative. Criticisms from the international community claim that approval may have been granted too prematurely while meaningful test results are missing.

Putin’s Announcement

President Vladimir Putin announced Russia’s advancements in the global race for vaccine supremacy on Tuesday. The vaccine developed by the Moscow Gamaleja Institute received approval from the Ministry of Health, Putin announced, further noting that one of his two daughters had already been vaccinated. He stated that he hoped that mass production could begin soon.

The vaccine was approved after less than two months of testing. Putin stressed, however, that all the necessary tests had been conducted, nonetheless. According to health authorities, medical staff, teachers, and other risk groups in Russia should be vaccinated first.

Critics: Vaccine is Not up to International Standards

So far, experts had assumed that a vaccine would likely not be ready before the end of this year or the beginning of 2021. One of the reasons for this is that vaccines need to progress through various stages of testing. According to reports, the third and decisive stage of testing was not carried out in Russia.

Besides, the vaccine has so far only been tested on an infinitesimal group of individuals, which is contrary to international criteria. General suspicion regarding the vaccine’s safety, even after Russia had first announced progress in its research, thus seems warranted.

Little is known about the vaccine “Gam-COVID-Vac Lyo” at this stage. It is a so-called vector vaccine, in which harmless viruses serve as carriers for characteristic genome segments of the pathogen Sars-CoV-2. The immune system of the vaccinated person should react to this genetic material and develop an appropriate immune response.

However, many scientists in Russia as well as abroad have expressed criticism of registering a new agent before the aforementioned third test phase has been completed. The latter usually takes several months and involves several thousand test subjects.

However, in Russia, the experimental corona vaccine was first tested on a few dozen volunteers less than two months ago, and no scientific results have yet been published. Some observers suspect that the reason for the ambitious timetable is that Moscow hopes for a propaganda success.

Sceptics Abound

Vitali Swerjew from the Russian Metschnikof Institute explained, for example, that developing the vaccine was the smallest problem. The real hurdle was that it is impossible to prove a vaccine’s effectiveness and potential danger. Nor can be said how long the immunity will last, without sufficient research. Sverjew was thus concerned that Russia has been neglecting its duty of care in the process.

The World Health Organization also emphasizes that potential vaccines always have to go through all test phases before they come onto the market in order to adhere to “established practices and guidelines”, said spokesman Christian Lindmeier. Anthony Fauci, the top expert on infectious diseases in the USA, has expressed his concerns over Russia’s advancements, also.

“Claims to have a vaccine that can be widely used before testing is problematic at best,” he said.

The Price for Russians Could be High

Already the previous week, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister for Education, Health and Social Policy Tatyana Golikova announced that her country would approve a vaccine in August. Golikova had only limited the roadmap to successful clinical tests with around 1,600 subjects.

On Monday then, Health Minister Mikhail Muraschko announced that Gamaleja had completed the clinical trials with the vaccine. Russia seeks to start the first mass vaccination campaign against the coronavirus as early as October and officially win the international race.

However, the price that the Russian population could have to pay for what may end up being nothing more than a temporary propaganda success could be exceedingly high.

L'articolo Russia Approves World’s First COVID-19 Vaccine proviene da InsideOver.

Millions of people in Wuhan are being tested for the coronavirus after six new cases were reported in the central Chinese city last week. They are the first reported cases in 35 days, after a 76-day lockdown. None of the cases were imported from overseas, leading to fears of a new outbreak of mass infections at the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Details of the Testing

The city-wide nucleic acid testing are set to be carried out over ten days, with Wuhan authorities promising to test their 11 million residents. The scheme is also set to collect data on people who are asymptomatic, but may still be spreading the virus.

Experts, however, have criticized these measures as overzealous.

“In communities without infections, there is no need to screen everyone,” Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist of China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention told CCTV.

‘It’s Not Over Until it’s Over’

Germany and South Korea, previously glowing examplars of effective pandemic control, have also seen renewed outbreaks after easing lockdown restrictions.

“It’s not over until it’s over,” South Korean President, Moon Jae-in said last week, in response to the emergence of a new cluster of coronavirus cases in the capital, Seoul. Experts have warned governments that re-opening countries must be handled with extreme caution and care to prevent a new rise in domestic transmission rates.

Fasehun Diipo, an NHS nurse working with coronavirus patients told InsideOver that: “There will most likely be a second wave of the pandemic in Europe, as countries lift their lockdowns, especially in light of the laissez-faire attitude with which the easing of the lockdowns are being implemented.

“Europe is rushing to lift its lockdowns,” he continued. “For example Germany has restarted its football league which will pull a lot of crowds. With schools reopening as well, children will not respect social distancing rules, and teachers cannot be expected to maintain total enforcement of the rules. All these bits and pieces are what will make the second outbreak possible, if stringent measures are not put into place.”

Shulan is Also Having a COVID-19 Comeback

Wuhan is not the only region in China experiencing a rise in domestic transmissibility. According to Chinese state media, Shulan, a high -risk region in China, has seen 15 new cases since last week. Shulan has now locked down all residential areas, banned all non-essential travel, and closed schools again. Other places with high public gatherings, such as restaurants and transport stations have also been closed.

“There is no vaccine yet for this disease: with trials still ongoing, we have not yet heard of a successful confirmation of vaccine trials,” Mr Diplo said.

“Without a viable vaccine we don’t have immunity, apart from any natural immunity that has developed in some people. I believe there should be a systematic release of the lockdown, but countries are rushing to bring their economy back up and save the financial sector. Countries are trying to become productive again, and that’s totally acceptable.

“Looking at the positive side, however, there is still a ban on inter-country flights, with only essential travel being allowed. That might just curtail the resurgence of a second wave, even for a little bit. The next two weeks will be very crucial for every country in the European world. We will need to follow, and to monitor, very accurately for a second outbreak of the virus, so that we can go on lockdown again if need be.”

‘This is a Wake-up Call’

For Diipo, more needs to be done by European governments to protect their citizens.

“This is a wake-up call for the government,” he explained, “because we can see that the government was not earlier prepared for this. We never really thought it would escalate to this stage, but now we are better prepare for a possible second wave.

He explained that he believed wide-scale tasts of populations are possible in countries. Using Britain as an example, he said: “Test numbers have been improving so far. There is an average testing facility within cities. You can now easily get a location where you can go to get tested. Frontline workers have virtually all been tested, so testing is not as difficult, or as impossible in the UK as it previously was during the peak of the pandemic. Testing, so far, has been a success in the UK, and it has helped us to progress positively. Testings are also a benchmark for us in the case of a second wave,” he added.

“The health secretary said earlier that the UK hoped to achieve 100,000 tests a day. With a population of about 66 million people, 100,000 tests daily is too low in comparison. He further stated that he would invite organisations in the private sector into the conversation to see how they can collaborate with the government to achieve that. We may not have reached the 100,000 mark, but we are progressing every day. There is no decline or derailment in testings at this moment in time.”

Coronavirus Cover-Ups in China

In the same week, a whistleblower report sent to NTD News shows that there has been a cover-up of coronavirus numbers in China’s hospitals. Chinese officials have previously been accused of covering up the severity of the virus by publishing inaccurate infection and death figures.

Asymptomatic cases are not counted as confirmed cases, despite asymptomatic carriers’ possession and transmission of the virus.

“It is important we tread carefully about countries like China (and Iran), because of the political sanctions upon these countries, and the tensions between China, Iran and the US,” Diipo said, adding that “The coronavirus has come to stay. It has come to change the way we live, the way we relate. We need to stay healthy, safe, exercise, and take our vitamins, because the coronavirus is going to be around for a very long time.”

L'articolo Wuhan Mass Tests 11 Million Citizens for Coronavirus proviene da InsideOver.

Recovered coronavirus patients are retesting positive for the virus according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

Does COVID-19 Reactivate?

As of Tuesday, May 5, 277 recovered patients who originally tested negative for the virus retested as positive during a subsequent test. The KCDC previously feared that the COVID-19 virus became reactivated after formerly going dormant.

On Tuesday the country’s infectious-disease experts concluded that the positive test results were false: a result of fragments of the virus that remained in patients’ bodies showing up in test kits. There was no live virus present in all 277 cases.

False Positives?

Dr. David Denning, Professor of Infectious Diseases in Global Health at The University of Manchester’s Division of Infection, Immunity and Respiratory Medicine, told InsideOver that the method of testing for the virus in formerly infected patients can produce false positives.

“Almost testing for the SARS CoV2 is done by detecting RNA (nucleic acid) using PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction), not by viral culture,” Denning said.

“PCR is highly sensitive and in the category level 3 labs in which it is done, it is possible some low level lab contamination of RNA occurred, which produced false positive results.

“It is equally likely that patients recovering from infection have a few residual cells containing dead virus that are picked up by the PCR assay,” Denning added.

This refutes theories in the scientific community that the coronavirus can be reactivated or reinfected in former patients. Withal, the false positives seem to be good news for the future of herd immunity, as countries worldwide begin to lift quarantine restrictions.

There are now over 3.6 million cases of coronavirus worldwide, as of May 5, 16:00 BST. Nearly 1.18 million people have, in turn, recovered. One of the first nations to report a COVID-19 outbreak, South Korea has reported only 254 deaths as of May 5. Out of more than 10,800 confirmed cases, the country has seen 9,283 recovery cases so far.

This is because the country enforced one of the world’s most effective pandemic strategies, using contact tracing and widespread testing. Although it did not close most venues, the country’s leaders implemented mass social distancing guidelines to keep people apart.

The Future of Herd Immunity

Denning remains cautious about the future of herd immunity. “It is likely that symptomatic patients with COVID-19 develop partial or complete immunity to SARS CoV2,” he said.

“One way this is measured is with neutralising IgG antibody in blood. Other arms of the immune system are probably important, including saliva antibody (sIgA), T cells and probably natural killer cells.

“These parts of the immune system are a little hard to measure in terms of documenting herd immunity,” he continued, adding that “complete immunity means no chance of re-infection. Partial immunity means a possible chance, if exposed to lots of virus, and/or a milder infection. The term herd immunity would apply to both.”

Herd Immunity Isn’t Enough

Like other practices executed to defeat the virus, herd immunity is not a complete strategy on its own. Denning argues that the success of herd immunity will rest in “sustained immunity”.

“It is not clear to what extent those with asymptomatic SARS CoV2 (i.e. without the disease COVID-19) develop immunity and whether this immunity is partial or complete,” Denning said.

“It is also not clear how sustained immunity will be over time – other coronavirus immunity lasts a few months or years,” he added.

Experts around the world have warned of a second wave of the coronavirus as countries relax their lockdowns. As the search for a vaccine continues globally, experts also remain cautious and pessimistic about finding a vaccine soon. They have also called for renewed efforts towards identifying possible cases, tracing contacts, and monitoring symptoms.

L'articolo Why are Recovered Coronavirus Patients Retesting Positive for the Virus? proviene da InsideOver.

As pharmaceutical companies worldwide scramble to develop a vaccine for the Corvid-19 coronavirus, US President Donald Trump attempted to secure the exclusive rights to a possible cure. CureVac, a Germany-based company, was one of nearly two dozen research firms invited to the brief Trump at the White House on March 2. Discussions at the meeting ultimately led to the Trump administration pressing CureVac to make its eventual vaccine available first in America and possibly exclusively, the New York Times reported. 

Denials All Around

“We are very confident that we will be able to develop a potent vaccine candidate within a few months,” said former CureVac CEO Daniel Menichella. But then something curious happened: exactly one week later, Menichella, an American, resigned his position with no explanation given. 

That’s when a report emerged in the Welt am Sonntag German newspaper that Trump offered a financial incentive—$1 billion—to CureVac, perhaps to convince it to even move to the US, Reuters reported. It went on to allege that Berlin had made counteroffers to keep it in Germany.

As the story brew, an unnamed US official said, “This story is wildly overplayed … We will continue to talk to any company that claims to be able to help. And any solution found would be shared with the world.”

US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell also issued a denial tweeting, “Not true. The Welt story was wrong. But Business Insider, Reuters and others went with it anyway despite not having their own sources. Now everyone is back peddling.” 

However, no media outlet has retracted its story on Trump approaching CureVac with a wad of cash in exchange for vaccine exclusivity. Giving further credence to the claims, the German government is taking the matter seriously and the topic was set for discussion at a Monday meeting of the coronavirus crisis committee. Although details from the meeting have yet to be released publicly, Berlin has confirmed ongoing discussions with CureVac.

Berlin Steps In

“The German government is very interested in ensuring that vaccines and active substances against the new coronavirus are also developed in Europe,” said a German Health Ministry spokeswoman. “In his regard, the government is in intensive exchange with the company CureVac.”

CureVac has since denied any possible deal between it and the Trump administration and said it is developing a vaccine  “to protect people worldwide.” It also issued a press release Sunday declaring, “The company rejects current rumours of an acquisition.”

The public statement drew support from Peter Altmaier, German economic minister.

“It was a great decision,” he said on Sunday. “Germany is not for sale.” Any foreign takeover of the company would meet resistance from Berlin, he said.

“When it’s about important infrastructure and national and European interest, we will also act if we have to.”

CureVac investors, particularly Christof Hettich, chief executive of Dievini Hopp Biotech Holding. He affirmed his belief that a vaccine should be “for the whole world, and not for individual states,” in an interview with Mannheimer Morgen newspaper.

Any Solution Should be Global

The administration’s approach to solving the Corvid-19 crisis has been multifaceted and at times chaotic. The president initially downplayed the threat as Democratic hoax and delayed declaring a national emergency. As global stock markets have continued to tank, Trump has been rushed into finding waves to soften the damage, but that can only come when the world sees some positive results. 

To that end, Trump needs a better policy on coronavirus. Leadership from his administration has thus far amounted to pressuring pharmaceutical companies into developing a cure sooner, but that process simply cannot be expedited. In lieu of a speedy solution, Trump is hoping to secure exclusive rights to a vaccine, once it is developed, but the rest of the world is not so keen to allow that to happen. Germany, in particular, did not take the news of Trump attempting to poach CureVac lightly. 

A global crisis demands a global result, and thankfully pharmaceutical companies like CureVac understand that. 

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