In India, the number of deaths rises to 9, with the number of cases reported to be 424 as of now. While as per WHO, there are a total of 2,92,142 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 26,069 new cases in the past 2 days with the death toll of 12,784 with 1600 new deaths. India successfully united for fight against COVID-19 yesterday with Janta Curfew, World leaders are seen urging it people to stay indoors. Let’s go through recent developments related to coronavirus, the status of vaccine that is being developed and why the US shut down a website claiming to sell coronavirus vaccine.
Donald Trump meanwhile tried to suggest that measures to contain coronavirus might be too extreme. He wrote in capital letters that cure cannot be greater than the problem itself.
WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF. AT THE END OF THE 15 DAY PERIOD, WE WILL MAKE A DECISION AS TO WHICH WAY WE WANT TO GO!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 23, 2020
About the development of coronavirus vaccine :
Moderna, Inc. or Moderna Therapeutics is among the leaders who are testing the corona vaccine on humans. It is a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company that has given its prototype named mRNA-1273 to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the USA for small scale testing on healthy humans. There are around 35 companies and academic institutions that are working hard. It was made possible because Chinese researchers had posted the genetic sequence of SARS-CoV-2 in mid-January to researchers around the world, because of which companies like Moderna Therapeutics were able to work on it.
Tianjin CanSino Biotech Inc. or simply CanSino is another biotech company that has been granted permission for clinical testing of vaccines from the Chinese government. Academy of Military Medical Sciences (AMMS), which is a Chinese military medical research institute, is also partnering with CanSino. As per norms, clinical trials are, to begin with, animal testing, however, these companies have probably skipped the process. As per reports, 108 residents of Wuhan, will be randomized to three dose groups. They would be aged between 18 to 60 years.
Prestigious Oxford University is also developing vaccine ChAdOx1 which is a chimpanzee adenovirus vaccine vector and was used to develop a vaccine against MWERS-Cov, another coronavirus. Dr. Sarah Gilbert is leading the team with Prof Andrew Pollard, Prof Teresa Lambe, Dr. Sandy Douglas, and Prof Adrian Hill. It is undergoing animal testing, however.
Although these companies are somewhat successful, it might take another year to produce vaccines on a large scale. Till that time, we urge people to take precautions and stay put.
Read also: Movies and shows strangely similar to the current situation | VoxyTalksy
Why the US shut down a website?
A fraud website named coronavirusmedicalkit.com claimed to sell vaccines for COVID-19.
Homepage of the website said
“Due to the recent outbreak for the Coronavirus (COVID-19), the World Health Organization is giving away vaccine kits. Just pay $4.95 for shipping.”
It is a usual trend that amidst any epidemic, there is a flurry of misinformation and thugs who try to dupe people. Voxy Talksy recommends everyone to verify all facts before taking any steps.
News from Italy
The death toll in Italy has reached 6,078 with 63,928 corona cases. Meanwhile, people on the internet were curious about the news that Italy’s president was crying because he was not able to control the coronavirus outbreak. The news, however, was found to be false with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in the picture, not Italy’s president Giuseppe Conte.
