While the world ends its seventh month since the novel coronavirus was identified and began its enduring spread throughout the globe, many countries have had to battle waves of outbreak while others have suffered with a prolonged spread. The pandemic has spurred scientists and other health officials to work tirelessly to develop adequate testings, personal care supplies, and potential treatments and cures, all so the world's population can conquer the virus and move on towards a new normal. Yet for all the progress the world has made towards that goal, the World Health Organization's Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned on Friday that the effects of pandemic will linger for decades.
"The pandemic is a once-in-a century health crisis, the effects of which will be felt for decades to come," Tedros told the agency's emergency committee in released remarks, quoted by Reuters. Tedros highlighted that as the virus has advanced throughout the world, many questions surrounding it remain unanswered and most of the world's population is still vulnerable to infection.
"Early results from serology (antibody) studies are painting a consistent picture: most of the world's people remain susceptible to this virus, even in areas that have experienced sever outbreak," Tedros added. "Many countries that believed they were past the worst are not grappling with new outbreaks. Some that were less affected in the earliest weeks are now seeing escalating numbers of cases and deaths."
Increased Testing Capacity
The U.S. National Institutes of Health (N.I.H.) announced on Friday that it will expand the country's testing capacity by awarding roughly $250 million in contracts to seven biomedical companies though its Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics initiative. This move is in response the the United States' testing issue where many areas are facing shortages, laboratory backlogs and long wait times for results. The effort to contain the spread of the virus throughout the population can only be effective if individuals are able to know their infection status and can isolate and contact trace accordingly. In some areas of the country, testing turnaround times--the amount of time it takes to receive results--can vary from anywhere between 2 to 10 days.
According to the N.I.H., the companies will be manufacturing a mix of both laboratory-based and point-of-care testing to offer cheaper, faster, and most importantly efficient testing. The agency estimates that it can offer the tests by millions per week as early as September, with demand projected to increase.
Vaccine Deals
The U.S. government agreed to pay the vaccine partnership Sanofi (NASDAQ: SNY) and GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) up to $2.1 billion to develop and deliver 100 million doses of their potential vaccine through Operation Warp Speed, the companies announced Friday. This is the biggest contract the Trump administration has issued in its effort to fund the production of coronavirus vaccines.
The pair stated than more than half of the contract will fund development of the vaccine, including multiple clinical trials. The rest of the funds will be for manufacturing and delivery of the 100 million doses, with the U.S. having the option to purchase an additional 500 million.
Sanofi expects to begin early-stage clinical trials in September to prove the vaccine is both safe and effective, with large late-stage trials set to state by the end of the year. The pair expect to be able to file for regulatory approval in the first half of 2021.