NPR: Vaccine Makers Hedge Bets On Which One Will Emerge As Effective And Safe
“Once upon a time, developing a new vaccine was a step-by-step process that went from concept, to design, to tests in humans, to regulatory approval, to manufacturing. It was a process that could take a decade or more. But the urgent need for a COVID-19 vaccine has radically changed all that. Now, the hope is the entire process can be completed in a year or less. … A lot of steps that used to come one after another are taking place concurrently…” (Palca, 6/10).

Washington Post: Coronavirus vaccine developers are chasing outbreaks before they disappear
“The top teams rushing to develop coronavirus vaccines are alerting governments, health officials, and shareholders that they may have a big problem: The outbreaks in their countries may be getting too small to quickly determine whether vaccines work. A leader of the Oxford University group, one of the furthest ahead with human trials, admits the reality is paradoxical, even ‘bizarre,’ but said the declining numbers of new infections this summer could be one of the big hurdles vaccine developers face in the global race to beat down the virus. Even as new cases are growing worldwide, transmission rates are falling in Britain, China, and many of the hardest-hit regions in the United States — the three countries that have experimental vaccines ready to move into large-scale human testing in June, July, and August. The shrinking number of new infections in former hot spots is good news, of course. But vaccine developers need sufficient numbers of infected people, with and without symptoms, circulating in the general population … to test whether the vaccine protects volunteers when they are exposed…” (Booth/Johnson, 6/10).

Al Jazeera: Doctor’s Note: Where are we in developing a coronavirus vaccine? (Khan, 6/9).

Reuters: Potential COVID-19 vaccine from China shows promise in animal tests (Liu/Munroe, 6/10).

Reuters: China says clinical trials show African swine fever vaccine safe so far (Patton, 6/10).

Reuters: Exclusive: Europe to accelerate trials of gene-engineered COVID-19 vaccines — sources (Guarascio/Soares, 6/10).

Reuters: Anti-inflammatory and cancer drugs tested in U.K. as possible COVID-19 therapy (Sandle, 6/10).

Reuters: AstraZeneca wins fresh U.S. funding in race for COVID-19 treatment (Aripaka, 6/9).

Reuters: Retracted COVID-19 studies expose holes in vetting of data firms (Humer et al., 6/9).

Reuters: Corning wins U.S. funding to boost vial output for COVID-19 vaccines (Mishra/Joseph, 6/9).

Thomson Reuters Foundation: British scientists bypass drug giants to sell potential coronavirus vaccine (Shearman, 6/8).

Science: Three big studies dim hopes that hydroxychloroquine can treat or prevent COVID-19 (Kupferschmidt, 6/9).