The TWiVy team deconstructs CoronaVac, the inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine produced by Sinovac Biotech, and production of multivalent camelid nanobodies that block infection with the virus and suppress selection of neturalization-resistant variants.
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Brianne Barker
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Download TWiV 708 (73 MB .mp3, 121 min)
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Links for this episode
- David Kessler to head Operation Warp Speed (NY Times) 3:51
- Phase 1/2 results of Sinovac inactivated vaccine (Lancet) 6:09
- beta-propiolactone (Wikipedia) 13:11
- Multivalent anti-SARS-CoV-2 nanobodies (Science) 50:02
- Letters read on TWiV 708 1:17:16
- Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!
Weekly Picks 1:43:43
Dickson – Photos of mob attacking Capitol
Brianne – Video of Neutrophil Phagocytosis
Alan – Fishing Through the Apocalypse
Rich – A Word on Statistics by Wislawa Szymborska
Vincent – Letters from an American
Listener Pick
Mike – Have the new jab
Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees
Send your virology questions and comments to twiv@microbe.tv
Great to review this episode – and :and new development with these nanobodies ?
for Rich : funny anecdote – piece of advise from a vet : never come from behind an animal that is hunted in nature by predators .-lol
I find Prof. Racaniello’s positive lookout on the vaccine business uplifting; …but l think of it as quite optimistic.
I’d like to propose another scenario:
Two companies are trying to get their mRNA platform certified for human use, without success, for about 10 (Moderna) and 15 (Biontech) years; simply because the risk-reward-balance nevne even allowed for clinical studies on humans.
Things are looking bad, investors are getting jumpy, but now SARS-CoV-2 happens, like a prayer answered.
And now all it takes is a bit of lobbying, bribery and investement in media for even more scaremongering.
Half the job is already done by the great pharma investor and most influential WHO sponsor Gates, having successfully lobbied for lowering the mortality threshold for a pandemic to low levels like those of pig flu and SARS-CoV-2.
Now everybody cries for vaccines, the classic vaccines cannot be produced in sufficient amounts, and those companies can offer their experimental mRNA-vaccines to politicians with their back agains the wall.
Of course, the suggested timeframe is not possible while adhering to the regular certification process, and cutting corners (aka telescoping) must be applied, together with a total disregard für risk control.
But since there are obvious risks, those companies are unable to shoulder the burden of responsibility and require liability exclusion.
All in all, IMHO we are looking at an amoral, maybe even criminal marketing scheme here, where a common and quite mild infection spreading around the world like it happens every year with other seasonal infections, is used to fatten the wallets of some cooperations without any risk to themselves, but great burdens, suffering and risks for their potential customers.
I’m curious if I might life long enough to see the clarification of facts which position turn out to be closer to the truth.