Researchers pin hopes on pan-coronavirus vaccine to end the pandemic

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Medics carry out COVID-19 vaccinations during a mass campaign in the Bneid Al-Gar district of Kuwait City on October 11, 2021. (AFP)
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A man receives a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine during a mass vaccination exercise at Wuse market in Abuja, Nigeria on January 26, 2022. (REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde)
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A health worker inoculates a youth with a dose of the Covaxine vaccine at a primary health centre in Hyderabad on January 29, 2022. (Photo by Noah Seelam / AFP)
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A man receives a COVID-19 vaccine at a mobile vaccine clinic bus at the Grand Bazaar of Tehran, Iran, on Jan. 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
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A teenager receives a dose of Russia's Sputnik M (Gam-COVID-Vac-M) COVID-19 vaccine in Krasnodar, Russia, on Jan. 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Vitaliy Timkiv)
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Morocco's King Mohammed VI, center, is briefed about a anti-COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing plant being launched by Recipharm Company in Ben Slimane, 50 km south of Rabat, on Jan. 27, 2022. (AP)
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Updated 01 February 2022
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Researchers pin hopes on pan-coronavirus vaccine to end the pandemic

  • Current vaccines have reduced the severity of COVID-19 symptoms, but emerging variants remain a challenge 
  • A pan-coronavirus vaccine could be a game-changer, but only if the global distribution gap is addressed

DUBAI: When a handful of pharmaceutical firms began the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines in early 2021, many thought the worst of the pandemic was over. Indeed, the idea of a tangible weapon against the virus that had killed millions and devastated economies worldwide was temporarily empowering.

Within months, a selection of vaccines hit the market, with countries racing to secure enough doses for their populations in the hope of preventing further disruption. More than 9 billion doses later, with about half the global population “fully vaccinated,” it seemed as though the tide was finally turning against the virus and that normal life could soon resume.

 

 

Sadly, such optimism would prove short-lived. Although the vaccine roll-out reduced the severity of COVID-19 symptoms, alleviating pressure on hospitals and saving many lives, scientists have struggled to contain mutations of the virus, including the latest highly transmissible omicron variant, which has broken through the vaccine shield.

This has forced pharmaceutical firms to return to the drawing board to consider variant-specific vaccines, an extended booster program to prolong immunity, or even “universal” vaccines that can tackle every variant of the virus. Such a pan-coronavirus vaccine could become publicly available in the not too distant future.




Emmanuel Kouvousis

“I believe a fourth (omicron specific) dose could become available in another six to nine months, as long as the omicron variant is dominant,” Emmanuel Kouvousis, a senior scientific adviser at Vesta Care, told Arab News. “However, if another more disruptive variant emerges, then we need to consider a scenario where we get a booster shot every three months.”

Kouvousis says a change in seasons could help delay the emergence of a new variant as the spread of the virus tends to slow in the spring and summer months. This could offer scientists a window of opportunity to get ahead of new variants.

“Many people ask if there will be a solution to this pandemic, and I say absolutely,” Kouvousis said. “There is huge hope that this pandemic will end, firstly because billions of people have been vaccinated and many others have been persuaded that the only way out of this is through vaccines, and secondly, because of a pan-COVID or ‘universal’ vaccine, which is currently in the testing phase.”




With billions of people already vaccinated, it is hoped that the COVID-19 pandemic will end. (AFP file photo)

Last year, the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases awarded $36.3 million to three academic institutions — Duke University, the University of Wisconsin, and Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital — to research and develop universal vaccines.

“We want a pan-coronavirus vaccine so that you have it on the shelf to respond to the next viral pandemic,” Anthony Fauci, the White House chief medical adviser, told NBC in January.

Separately, he told a Senate committee the development of a universal coronavirus vaccine could help the world tackle the next pandemic. “There’s a lot of investment, not only in improving the vaccines that we have for SARS-CoV-2, but a lot of work ... to develop the next generation of vaccines, particularly universal coronavirus vaccines,” he said at the hearing.

Among the scientists working on the vaccine are a team at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. Reporting promising results in animals, their version of the universal vaccine is known as the SARS-COV-2-Spike-Ferritin-Nanoparticle (SpFN) vaccine, currently in phase 1 of human trials.

So far, the three-dose vaccine has been tested with two jabs 28 days apart followed by a third shot six months later. Kayvon Modjarrad, co-inventor of SpFN, said in a press statement that the new vaccine uses a harmless portion of the COVID-19 virus to build up the body’s defenses.

This method follows the same used in developing universal flu vaccines, an approach that is different to that used in three of the most popular COVID-19 vaccines today.  





COVID-19 has proved to be tougher than earlier thought, mutating into numerous variants as vaccine experts try to suppress it. (AFP file photo)

Vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna use messenger RNA (mRNA) to teach cells how to make a protein that will trigger an immune response inside the body, thereby building immunity. Meanwhile, others like the Johnson & Johnson vaccine use a harmless rhinovirus to train the immune system to respond to COVID-19.

Despite the huge progress made in vaccine production and distribution over the past year, the coronavirus, with its ever-growing family of variants, all named after letters of the Greek alphabet, continues to defy efforts to find the proverbial silver bullet.

Confidence among the fully vaccinated plummeted in the run-up to the winter holidays after the World Health Organization named omicron a variant of concern. It went on to infect a record number of people within a matter of days, pushing many countries to reimpose containment measures.




As COVID-19 continues to defy international efforts to put it under control, booster shots are being widely administered to maintain immunity. (AFP file photo)

Soon, millions of vaccinated people were informed that they would need a third or even a fourth dose to avoid becoming seriously ill. Even people who have already had the virus have been reinfected with the new variant.

Some countries, such as the UK, are working toward herd immunity, lifting almost all restrictions on travel and public spaces. However, Kouvousis is skeptical that herd immunity can be achieved through mass infection.

“It can only come about through vaccinations and having 90 percent of the world’s population fully vaccinated within a reasonable time span in order to avoid the emergence of new mutations,” he said.

In the meantime, booster shots are being widely administered in developed countries to maintain immunity. But even with a booster, experts say that the public should continue to follow hygiene and social distancing advice.

“The key after getting a booster shot is to wear the mask properly, which very few people do,” Dr. Gregory Poland, founder of the Mayo Clinic’s Vaccine Research Group, told Arab News. “The vaccines we have are predominantly disease-blocking and less so infection-blocking.”




Dr. Gregory Poland, founder of the Mayo Clinic’s Vaccine Research Group.

Part of the reason why developing nations are so far behind with the roll-out is the continuing monopolization of vaccine production and distribution by a few key players: AstraZeneca, BioNTech, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Novavax and Pfizer.

Just 10 percent of the African continent is currently immunized against the virus, leaving a gap for future dominant mutations to arise in these countries. Experts such as Poland want pharmaceutical firms to suspend their patents and share their vaccine formulas with smaller regional outfits, allowing them to produce shots closer to the point of need.

“This is a potentially important strategy,” he said. “Each sovereign nation gets to decide how to organize itself and protect its people. This includes national production facilities of those items critical to the well-being of the population or viable partnerships with other producers of the goods they need.”

To try and meet local demand and bridge the gap, several countries are working on their own generic vaccines and drugs to fight the virus. For instance, India’s first mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine “HGCO19” aims to offer protection against omicron specifically.

The vaccine, developed by Gennova Biopharmaceuticals Ltd., is set to begin human trials in the near future after early studies found the vaccine to be “safe, tolerable and immunogenic.” Similarly, Egypt’s first coronavirus vaccine, called “COVI-VAX,” is in the testing phase.

Meanwhile, the Philippines, which has one of Asia’s lowest vaccination rates, has authorized the use of a recombinant vaccine called “ReCOV” developed in China by Jiangsu Recbio Technology Co., as the country lacks the capacity to develop one of its own.




A Filipino resident receives a booster jab in Manila on Jan. 27, 2022 amidst rising COVID-19 infections driven by Omicron variant. (Maria Tan / AFP) 

While still in its second phase of clinical trials, preliminary studies show that ReCOV has a sufficient neutralization effect on COVID-19 variants such as omicron and its earlier delta iteration.

Distribution has also been a major issue for hard-to-reach communities in the developing world. Shipping firms such as DHL have played a pivotal role in delivering vaccines, carting some 1.85 billion doses to 174 countries to date. But unless local authorities handle the cargo correctly on arrival, shots can be wasted.

“Vaccines are high value, extremely sensitive, and temperature-controlled items,” Fatima Ait Bendawad, head of DHL Global Humanitarian Logistics Competency Center in Dubai, told Arab News. “Any misstep in the logistics chain would result in potential loss of lives because the vulnerable can’t get to them on time.”

For Kouvousis, the problem is not entirely confined to the matter of production or distribution. In many cases, vaccination campaigns have proved slow or ineffective owing to the poor state of medical institutions in developing nations.

“The major players have the infrastructure to produce what is needed for the whole world,” Kouvousis said. “But some countries don’t have the infrastructure, the facilities or the education to use them effectively.”

After two years of ups and downs in the fight against the pandemic, the emergence of a pan-coronavirus vaccine would be a global game-changer. However, unless production and distribution are streamlined and enough people are administered shots in a short space of time, the opportunity to end the pandemic this year could yet be missed.


Record number of climbers chase 14-peak dream in Tibet

Updated 10 sec ago
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Record number of climbers chase 14-peak dream in Tibet

  • Only about 50 climbers worldwide have climbed all mountain peaks above 8,000 meters
  • Most climbers assembled at Chinese Himalayas have already summited 13 other highest peaks

Katmandu: A record number of climbers are gathered in Tibet to complete mountaineering’s pinnacle achievement, summiting the world’s tallest 14 peaks.

Only about 50 climbers have climbed all mountain peaks above 8,000 meters (26,250 feet), a feat that took most years, or even decades, to complete.

About 20 are vying for the record books this month, some spurred by a blockbuster Netflix documentary giving the endeavor a wider profile.

Technological advancements have made the feat easier to accomplish.

“We are growing as a community, and we are representing mountaineering all over the world,” Pakistani climber Shehroze Kashif, 22, told AFP.

“I think that’s great... they are completing their dream, as I am.”

It took Italian climber Reinhold Messner 16 years from his initial summit to become the first person in the world considered to have climbed all 14 peaks in 1986.

But most of the climbers assembled in the Chinese Himalayas at the base camp of Mount Shisha Pangma only began their attempts within the past few years.

They have already summited the 13 other highest peaks, located in the Himalayan and Karakoram ranges, straddling Nepal, Pakistan, Tibet and India.

Many have been waiting to scale the 8,027-meter-high (26,335 feet) Tibetan peak since last year, when China closed the mountain to climbers after two American women and their Nepali guides were killed in an avalanche.

The aspirants are a mix of seasoned veterans and rising stars.

Teenage Nepali climber Nima Rinji Sherpa, 18, aims to be the youngest to climb all 14.

Several hope to be the first from their respective countries to accomplish the feat.

Advances in mountaineering technology, weather forecasting and logistical support have made this once-inaccessible goal more achievable — particularly for those who can afford it.

Mingma Sherpa of Seven Summit Treks, Nepal’s biggest mountaineering expedition company, told AFP that climbers could expect to pay up to $700,000 for full support teams.

But he said the hefty price tag had not dissuaded a growing number of people from pursuing the endeavor.

“They climb one or two, and then the mountains attract them,” he said. “Soon they might decide to climb them all.”

Teams of support crews and helicopters for rapid transportation between base camps have allowed climbers to tackle multiple mountains in a single season.

“It is clear that the pioneers back then, they did much more difficult, dangerous and exceptional ascents,” German mountaineering chronicler Eberhard Jurgalski told AFP.

“Now it is possible to do them within three months. The logistics are so world-class now.”

British-Nepali climber Nirmal Purja famously completed the 14 peaks in just over six months in 2019, shattering the previous record of seven years.

His efforts were chronicled in a Netflix documentary, inspiring a new wave of athletes to try and eclipse his speed run.

Norwegian climber Kristin Harila and her Nepali guide Tenjen Lama Sherpa — the latter who died attempting to summit Shisha Pangma last year — now hold the record.

They climbed the giant mountains in 92 days, ending in July 2023.

The pair also reached the “true summits” of all the mountains, which many previous climbers had missed.

This month, at least six have already completed the feat after summiting Shisha Pangma, including the first Japanese, Pakistani and female American climbers.

They also included Nirmal Purja again, who this time said he was climbing all 14 without supplementary oxygen.

The trend toward speed has not always been welcomed by the mountaineering fraternity.

Veteran climbers have criticized Purja and Harila for using helicopters, pre-prepared routes and support teams.

Dawa Yangzum Sherpa, who is aiming to become the first woman from Nepal to summit all 14 peaks, said the style of ascent dictated how much it was valued by other alpinists.

“Some climb 14 peaks... and maybe even have climbed Everest several times, but some don’t have the capacity to climb without support,” she told AFP.

But Russian climber Alina Pekova, also attempting the Tibetan summit to finish her 14-peak climb, said that speed ascents were an endurance test.

“If you can climb it a fast way, why not try?” she told AFP. “That’s another challenge.”


US Supreme Court to hear ‘ghost guns’ regulation case

Updated 24 min 42 sec ago
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US Supreme Court to hear ‘ghost guns’ regulation case

  • The ATF rule also requires commercial sellers of what are known as “buy-build-shoot” kits to be licensed and maintain records
WASHINGTON: The US Supreme Court hears a challenge on Tuesday to federal regulation of “ghost guns” — firearms sold in easy-to-assemble kits.
Gun manufacturers and owners are objecting to a 2022 rule from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) that requires ghost guns, like other firearms, to have serial numbers and for purchasers to undergo background checks.
The ATF rule also requires commercial sellers of what are known as “buy-build-shoot” kits to be licensed and maintain records.
Attorney General Merrick Garland has defended the rule under the Gun Control Act of 1968, saying it makes it “harder for criminals and other prohibited persons to obtain untraceable guns.”
According to ATF figures, nearly 20,000 ghost guns were recovered at crime scenes in the United States in 2021, a tenfold increase from 2016.
Ghost guns, some of which include parts made by 3D printers, are sold online or in stores in kits that can be assembled at home.
Gunmakers and gun rights groups challenged the ATF rule. A federal judge in Texas ruled that the bureau had exceeded its authority and that such regulation is up to Congress.
The Biden administration appealed to the US Supreme Court after the district court ruling was upheld by a conservative-dominated appeals court panel.
The Supreme Court, by a slim 5-4 vote, stayed the order of the lower courts striking down the ATF rule pending Tuesday’s oral arguments in the case.
In their brief to the Supreme Court, the gun rights groups said “an incomplete collection of parts is not a ‘weapon’” and ghost gun kits should not be considered “firearms” under the Gun Control Act.
Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, in her brief, said ghost gun manufacturers are seeking to get around the ATF rule using “trivial evasion” and included an analogy to the Swedish home goods giant IKEA.
“If a State placed a tax on the sale of tables, chairs, couches, and bookshelves, IKEA could not avoid paying by insisting that it does not sell any of those items and instead sells ‘furniture parts kits’ that must be assembled by the purchaser,” Prelogar wrote.
“So too with guns: A company in the business of selling kits that can be assembled into working firearms in minutes... is in the business of selling firearms.”
The Supreme Court is expected to deliver a decision in the case before the end of June 2025.

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un wants to speed up becoming a nuclear superpower

Updated 08 October 2024
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North Korea’s Kim Jong Un wants to speed up becoming a nuclear superpower

  • North Korea has for decades pursued a nuclear weapons program and is believed to have enough fissile materials to build dozens of the weapons

SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country will speed up steps toward becoming a military superpower with nuclear weapons and would not rule out using them if it came under enemy attack, state news agency KCNA said on Tuesday.
Kim mentioned South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol by name for the second time in a week in denouncing Seoul for colluding with Washington to destabilize the region to gloss over the fact it does not even have proper strategic weapons.
“Yoon Suk Yeol made some tasteless and vulgar comment about the end of the Republic in his speech, and it shows he is totally consumed by his blind faith in his master’s strength,” KCNA quoted Kim as saying, referring to the South’s alliance with the US
“To be honest, we have absolutely no intention of attacking South Korea,” he said in the speech at the Kim Jong Un National Defense University, a training ground for elite military specialists.
“Every time I stated our position on the use of military force, I clearly and consistently used the qualification ‘if.’ If the enemies try to use force against our country, the Republic’s military will use all offensive power without hesitation. This does not preclude the use of nuclear weapons.”
“Our footsteps toward becoming a military superpower and a nuclear power will accelerate,” he added.
North Korea has for decades pursued a nuclear weapons program and is believed to have enough fissile materials to build dozens of the weapons. It has conducted six underground nuclear detonation tests.
Last week, South Korea marked an annual armed forces day with a large military parade showcasing a ballistic missile capable of carrying a massive warhead and featuring a flypast of a US strategic bomber.
In his address that day, Yoon warned the North against using nuclear weapons. “That day will see the end of the North Korean regime.”
North Korea may be building a new submarine, the South Korean defense ministry said citing intelligence indications in a report to a member of parliament. In January, Kim reportedly ordered a nuclear submarine to be built.
The construction was at an early stage and it was not clear if the vessel was a nuclear-powered submarine, said the report.
North Korea is also working on a submarine drone that could be developed to carry nuclear weapons, possibly with the help of Russia, it said.
KCNA said Kim made his “military superpower” remarks on Monday, the same day the North has said its Supreme People’s Assembly would meet to discuss amending the country’s constitution. The news agency has made no mention of the assembly’s deliberations since Monday.
The session is being closely watched because of the likelihood it would approve a constitutional amendment to reflect Kim’s statement that unification is no longer possible and the South was a separate country and “a principal enemy.”
Such a move would formalize Kim’s break with decades-old goal espoused by both countries of national unification and attempts to improve ties, including a 2018 summit where their leaders declared there will be no more war and a new era of peace has opened.
In a separate report, KCNA said Kim sent a birthday message to Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling him his “closest Comrade and saying “strategic and cooperative relations” between the two countries will be raised to a new level.
South Korea’s Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun said “there was a high possibility” North Korea could deploy troops to help Russia in the war with Ukraine.
Kim also told a parliament hearing news reports of North Korean military officers having been killed in a Ukrainian strike in Russian-occupied territory were likely true.
Kim Jong Un and Putin in June adopted on a comprehensive strategic partnership that includes mutual defense pact.
The two countries have denied accusations by US and South Korean officials the North was supplying arms to Russia.


Philippines’ Marcos signs law to revitalize country’s defense industry

Updated 08 October 2024
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Philippines’ Marcos signs law to revitalize country’s defense industry

  • The Philippines has a relatively small defense industry capable of producing small arms and ammunition
  • But it has yet to achieve large-scale production of advanced military systems such as fighter jets

MANILA: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr signed into law a bill on Tuesday that aims to develop the country’s defense industry to reduce its reliance on imported sources and create equipment tailored to its security challenges.
“It’s a logical move forward for a country that finds itself at the fulcrum of geopolitical shifts and volatilities. At its core this act is about cultivating a robust and sustainable national defense industry,” Marcos said after signing the bill.
To promote and encourage investments in the country’s defense technology and production, the new self-reliant defense law will offer fiscal incentives ranging from tax breaks and government-backed financing, Marcos said.
“We will prioritize R&D to develop systems that meet our unique requirements to stay ahead of evolving threats, particularly asymmetrical threats that traditional systems may not be completely equipped to address,” Marcos said.
The new law, Marcos added, will also prioritize the production of critical defense materiel in the country, from small arms and tactical vehicles to more sophisticated systems.
“It establishes a structured approach to defensive development, starting with research and production capabilities that align our defense sector with our strategic objectives,” Marcos said.
The law is expected to complement government efforts to modernize its military, as it would help ensure that the Philippines can manufacture, maintain and upgrade military equipment.
The Philippines has a relatively small defense industry capable of producing small arms and ammunition, but it has yet to achieve large-scale production of advanced military systems such as fighter jets.
It is embarking on the latest phase of a multi-billion-dollar effort to modernize its military at a time of rising tension in the South China Sea.
It has allocated $35 billion for the buildup, spread over the next decade, as it has faced off with China in sea and air confrontations over contested areas of the busy waterway.


India PM Modi’s BJP trails in vote count in two provincial elections, TV says

Updated 08 October 2024
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India PM Modi’s BJP trails in vote count in two provincial elections, TV says

  • Defeats could be a fresh setback for BJP after it failed to win clear majority in general election earlier this year
  • Losing Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir would be dampeners for BJP ahead of elections in Maharashtra, Jharkhand

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) trailed in two provincial elections as votes were counted on Tuesday, TV channels said, a fresh setback after it failed to win a clear majority in the general election this year.

Elections in the northern state of Haryana and the troubled Himalayan territory of Jammu and Kashmir were held in phases that ended on Saturday, the first test of popularity since Modi returned as prime minister for a record third, straight term in June, albeit with the help of regional parties.

Losing Haryana and not winning power in Jammu and Kashmir is not expected to impact the Modi government’s ability to make federal policies but will be seen as dampeners for BJP ahead of elections in the more politically crucial states of Maharashtra and Jharkhand.

Exit polls had predicted a win for the main opposition Congress party in Haryana and gave an edge to Congress and its regional ally National Conference (NC) in Jammu and Kashmir.

The counting showed BJP was leading in 22 seats in Haryana, where it has held power for a decade, while Congress was ahead in 57 seats, TV channel CNN-News18 reported.

In Jammu and Kashmir, it said BJP was leading in 29 seats while the Congress-NC alliance was ahead in 44 seats in the first provincial poll there in a decade, and the first since the state was split into two federally administered territories in 2019.

Both legislatures have 90 seats each.

The industrial hub of Maharashtra is presently ruled by a BJP coalition, and an opposition alliance is in power in mineral-rich Jharkhand.

Elections in both states, although yet to be announced, are expected to be held in November.

Victory for Congress in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir will come as a major boost for its leader, Rahul Gandhi, the scion of a dynasty that gave India three prime ministers but who was blamed for the party’s slump since Modi swept to power in 2014.

Gandhi was also the face of the two-dozen party opposition alliance that denied Modi an outright majority in the parliamentary election and is currently the leader of the opposition in the lower house of parliament.