Reference: McGee, S., & De Waal, R. (2020). Rapid review of remdesivir for COVID-19: Update 15 December 2020. South African National Department of Health. Summary: The South African National Department of Health conducted a rapid review of remdesivir’s efficacy for treating hospitalised COVID-19 patients. The analysis included five randomised controlled trials (RCTs) with over 7,700 […]
Reference: U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2020). Vaccines and related biological products advisory committee meeting December 10, 2020 FDA briefing document Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. https://www.fda.gov/media/144246/download Summary: On December 10, 2020, the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) reviewed Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine, BNT162b2, which received an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) request on November 20,
Reference: Joi, P. (2020). What is the difference between efficacy and effectiveness? Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Retrieved from https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/what-difference-between-efficacy-and-effectiveness Summary: Efficacy and effectiveness are two crucial terms in vaccine science, often conflated but distinct. Efficacy refers to the performance of a vaccine under ideal, controlled conditions, typically demonstrated in clinical trials where a vaccinated group
Reference: Anderson, S. (2020). CBER plans for monitoring COVID-19 vaccine safety and effectiveness. Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee Meeting, FDA. Summary: The FDA’s Centre for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) presented its comprehensive strategy for monitoring the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines during the VRBPAC meeting on October 22, 2020. The approach
Reference: National Institutes of Health. (2020, July 27). Phase 3 clinical trial of investigational vaccine for COVID-19 begins. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/phase-3-clinical-trial-investigational-vaccine-covid-19-begins Summary: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has commenced a Phase 3 clinical trial to assess the efficacy of the investigational mRNA-1273 vaccine, co-developed by Moderna, Inc. and NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Reference: Mehra, M. R., Desai, S. S., Ruschitzka, F., & Patel, A. N. (2020). Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine with or without a macrolide for treatment of COVID-19: A multinational registry analysis. The Lancet, published online May 22, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31180-6 Summary: In June 2020, The Lancet announced the retraction of a significant study assessing the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine
Reference: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2020). Contains nonbinding recommendations: Development and licensure of vaccines to prevent COVID-19 guidance for industry. Food and Drug Administration. Summary: In June 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued guidance to assist the development and licensure of COVID-19 vaccines amidst the public health emergency. This
Reference: Mehra, M. R., Desai, S. S., Ruschitzka, F., & Patel, A. N. (2020). Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine with or without a macrolide for treatment of COVID-19: A multinational registry analysis. The Lancet, 395(10240), 1820-1830. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31180-6 Summary: The study evaluates the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, either alone or in combination with macrolides, in treating COVID-19
Reference: Levy, T. E. (2020). An at-home treatment that can cure any virus, including coronavirus. Retrieved from www.PeakEnergy.com Summary: The article discusses a simple and inexpensive treatment for viral infections, including COVID-19, using 3% hydrogen peroxide. Originally conceptualised by Dr. Charles Farr, this therapy targets infected cells rather than the viruses themselves, which cannot be
Reference: Pfizer. (2020). PF-07302048 (BNT162 RNA-Based COVID-19 vaccines) protocol C4591001. Summary: The document outlines the Phase 1/2/3 clinical trial to evaluate the safety, tolerability, immunogenicity, and efficacy of BNT162 RNA-based COVID-19 vaccines, developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. The trial investigates two vaccine candidates: BNT162b1, encoding the receptor-binding domain (RBD), and BNT162b2, encoding the prefusion spike