Wen Shi Lee, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity and Hyon Xhi Tan, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity
Even if we came up with a definition of what makes the “best” vaccine, we don’t have the luxury of choice, when vaccines are in short supply.
Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by progressive memory loss, spatial disorientation and many other cognitive and behavioural disorders that ultimately lead to a state of total dependence.
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The FDA approved Alzheimer’s disease drug aducanumab despite minimal evidence of its efficacy. Whether this decision ultimately hurts or helps patients depends on data researchers don’t yet have.
It sounds too good to be true, a vaccine that can protect against future virus variants. But governments around the world are keen to learn more.
Currently, the only approved drugs for Alzheimer’s merely alleviate some of the symptoms — partially and temporarily — but do not stop the disease from progressing.
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It was first officially described 115 years ago, but we still do not have a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. The human brain is extremely complex, and Alzheimer’s is its most complex disease.
A COVID-19 vaccine is administered at a clinic at Olympic Stadium in Montréal on March 1, 2021, marking the beginning of mass vaccination in the Province of Québec based on age.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
With four COVID-19 vaccines approved for use in Canada, it’s time to answer FAQs about efficacy, immunity, eradication and variants.
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Elaine and Arthur Shapiro/Wikimedia Commons
The reason the vaccine appears to have worked better in participants who initially received only half a dose is still somewhat of a mystery.
A nurse prepares a shot for a clinical trial of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc., on July 27, 2020 in Binghamton, N.Y.
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With COVID-19 vaccine announcements making headlines, non-scientists need to know what clinical trial results mean. Here are some key points to look for in vaccine trial reports.
COVID-19 vaccines are at risk of being undermined by vaccine hesitancy. Pharma must take steps to ensure transparency in data monitoring committees and trial data to build public trust in vaccines.
Asking these four questions can help us identify good news when we see it, be more critical of news reports, or delay our judgement until we have more information.
Any COVID-19 vaccine is likely to be given first to higher risk groups before it is given to children. But we still need vaccines that are safe and effective for them too.
Pregnant women are routinely excluded from clinical trials for drugs and vaccines.
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Pregnant women are at increased risk for serious COVID-19 complications and should be a high-priority group for vaccination. Excluding them from vaccine trials puts them and their offspring at risk.
There are many scientific and ethical challenges ahead. But these types of trials have helped in the development of vaccines against a few diseases. Could they do the same for COVID-19?
Australia’s contribution to the global COVAX initiative helps secure future vaccines. Here’s the full field of candidates.
A lab technician holds a vial of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate during testing at the Chula Vaccine Research Center, run by Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand on May 25, 2020.
(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Will a vaccine for COVID-19 be safe? Animal testing, human clinical trials and post-approval surveillance give us good grounds to believe that a future approved vaccine will work and be safe.
Professor of Bioethics & Medicine, Sydney Health Ethics, Haematologist/BMT Physician, Royal North Shore Hospital and Director, Praxis Australia, University of Sydney