One company’s quest for an antibody drug to fight COVID-19
December 21, 2020 GMTOn a Saturday afternoon in March as COVID-19 was bearing down on New York City, a dozen scientists anxiously crowded around a computer in a suburban drug company’s lab...
Sanofi, GSK say COVID-19 shot won’t be ready until late 2021
December 11, 2020 GMTLONDON (AP) — Drugmakers Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline said Friday that their potential COVID-19 vaccine won’t be ready until late next year because they need to improve the shot’s effectiveness in older people...
Scientists focus on bats for clues to prevent next pandemic
December 14, 2020 GMTRIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Night began to fall in Rio de Janeiro’s Pedra Branca state park as four Brazilian scientists switched on their flashlights to traipse along a narrow trail of mud through dense rainforest...
Early in pandemic, frantic doctors traded tips across oceans
August 1, 2020 GMTAmid the chaos of the pandemic’s early days, doctors who faced the first coronavirus onslaught reached across oceans and language barriers in an unprecedented effort to advise colleagues trying to save lives in the dark...
Profile of a killer: Unraveling the deadly new coronavirus
July 15, 2020 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — What is this enemy?
Seven months after the first patients were hospitalized in China battling an infection doctors had never seen before, the world’s scientists and citizens have reached an unsettling crossroads...
‘Desperation science’ slows the hunt for coronavirus drugs
July 8, 2020 GMTDesperate to solve the deadly conundrum of COVID-19, the world is clamoring for fast answers and solutions from a research system not built for haste...
Silent spread of virus keeps scientists grasping for clues
July 22, 2020 GMTOne of the great mysteries of the coronavirus is how quickly it rocketed around the world.
It first flared in central China and, within three months, was on every continent but Antarctica, shutting down daily life for millions...
AP Interview: India vaccine maker sees virus as wake-up call
December 11, 2020 GMTNEW DELHI (AP) — The coronavirus pandemic is a “wake up call” for governments to invest more in health care, says Adar Poonawalla, CEO of the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest manufacturer of vaccines...
AP-NORC poll: Only half in US want shots as vaccine nears
December 9, 2020 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — As states frantically prepare to begin months of vaccinations that could end the pandemic, a new poll finds only about half of Americans are ready to roll up their sleeves when their turn comes...
Studies suggest AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine safe, effective
December 8, 2020 GMTNew results on a possible COVID-19 vaccine from Oxford University and AstraZeneca suggest it is safe and about 70% effective, but questions remain about how well it may help protect those over 55 — a key concern for a vaccine that health officials hope to rely on around the world because of its low cost, availability and ease of use...
Years of research laid groundwork for speedy COVID-19 shots
December 7, 2020 GMTHow could scientists race out COVID-19 vaccines so fast without cutting corners? A head start helped -- over a decade of behind-the-scenes research that had new vaccine technology poised for a challenge just as the coronavirus erupted...
Q&A: Britain’s OK of COVID-19 vaccine sparks speedy debate
December 3, 2020 GMTVaccine rollout could ease crisis, but who gets it first?
December 3, 2020 GMTGetting a COVID-19 vaccine to the right people could change the course of the pandemic in the United States...
Who, when and how? A look at the UK’s vaccination rollout
December 2, 2020 GMTLONDON (AP) — British regulators have become the first to authorize the COVID-19 vaccine developed by American drugmaker LONDON (AP) — The British government said Friday it has formally asked the country’s medicines regulator to assess whether a coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University should be authorized for use.UK asks regulator to assess AZ-Oxford vaccine amid questions
November 27, 2020 GMT
AstraZeneca manufacturing error clouds vaccine study results
November 25, 2020 GMTLONDON (AP) — AstraZeneca and Oxford University on Wednesday acknowledged a manufacturing error that is raising questions about preliminary results of their experimental COVID-19 vaccine...
Volunteers still needed to test variety of COVID-19 vaccines
November 17, 2020 GMTTwo COVID-19 vaccines might be nearing the finish line, but scientists caution it's critical that enough people volunteer to help finish studying other candidates in the U...
Russia says COVID-19 vaccine is 92% effective on early data
November 11, 2020 GMTMOSCOW (AP) — Developers of Sputnik V, Russia's experimental COVID-19 vaccine, announced Wednesday that early, interim data from a large trial suggests the shot appears to be 92% effective...
Feds planning now to get coronavirus shots to nursing homes
October 16, 2020 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — Federal health officials on Friday unveiled a plan to get yet-to-be-approved coronavirus vaccines to nursing home residents free of charge, enlisting two national pharmacy chains to help...
Pfizer: Mid-November earliest it can seek virus vaccine OK
October 16, 2020 GMTNEW YORK (AP) —
Pfizer Inc. cannot request emergency authorization of its COVID-19 vaccine before the third week of November -- and that’s if everything goes well, the company’s CEO announced Friday...
China rapidly expands use of experimental COVID-19 vaccines
October 16, 2020 GMTTAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China is rapidly increasing the number of people receiving its experimental coronavirus vaccines, with a city offering one to the general public and a biotech company providing another free to students going abroad...
Extra safety scrutiny planned as virus vaccine worries grow
October 14, 2020 GMTFacing public skepticism about rushed COVID-19 vaccines, U.S. health officials are planning extra scrutiny of the first people vaccinated when shots become available — an added safety layer experts call vital...
Pfizer CEO pushes back against Trump claim on vaccine timing
October 2, 2020 GMTThe head of Pfizer, one of the drugmakers racing to develop a coronavirus vaccine, told employees on Thursday he was disappointed that its work was politicized during the presidential debate and tried to reassure U...
China aims to make 1 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses a year
September 25, 2020 GMTBEIJING (AP) — A Chinese health official said Friday that the country's annual production capacity for coronavirus vaccines will top 1 billion doses next year, following an aggressive government support program for construction of new factories...
Push is underway to test COVID-19 vaccines in diverse groups
September 18, 2020 GMTTAKOMA PARK, Md. (AP) — In front of baskets of tomatoes and peppers, near a sizzling burrito grill, the “promotoras” stop masked shoppers at a busy Latino farmers market: Want to test a COVID-19 vaccine...
Germany boosts own vaccine makers in race for COVID-19 jab
September 15, 2020 GMTBERLIN (AP) — Germany says it is providing up to 750 million euros ($892 million) to support three domestic pharmaceutical companies that are developing vaccines against the new coronavirus...
Oxford and AstraZeneca resume coronavirus vaccine trial
September 12, 2020 GMTLONDON (AP) — Oxford University announced Saturday it was resuming a trial for a coronavirus vaccine it is developing with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, a move that comes days after the study was suspended following a reported side-effect in a U...
Vaccine trial stopped after neurological symptoms detected
September 10, 2020 GMTLONDON (AP) — A woman who received an experimental coronavirus vaccine developed severe neurological symptoms that prompted a pause in testing, a spokesman for drugmaker AstraZeneca said Thursday...
Companies testing vaccines pledge safety, high standards
September 8, 2020 GMTThe top executives of nine drugmakers likely to produce the first vaccines against the new coronavirus signed an unprecedented pledge meant to boost public confidence in any approved vaccines...
UN: No vaccine to be endorsed before it’s safe and effective
September 4, 2020 GMTLONDON (AP) — The head of the World Health Organization said the U.N. health agency will not recommend any COVID-19 vaccine before it is proved safe and effective, even as Russia and China have started using their experimental vaccines before large studies have finished and other countries have proposed streamlining authorization procedures...
Russia publishes virus vaccine results, weeks after approval
September 4, 2020 GMTMOSCOW (AP) — Russian scientists have belatedly published first results from early trials into the experimental Sputnik V vaccine, which received government approval last month but drew considerable criticism from experts, as the shots had only been tested on several dozen people before being more widely administered...
Large antibody study offers hope for virus vaccine efforts
September 1, 2020 GMTAntibodies that people make to fight the new coronavirus last for at least four months after diagnosis and do not fade quickly as some earlier reports suggested, scientists have found...
Third virus vaccine reaches major hurdle: final US testing
September 1, 2020 GMTA handful of the dozens of experimental COVID-19 vaccines in human testing have reached the last and biggest hurdle — looking for the needed proof that they really work as a U...
UK to allow emergency use of any effective COVID-19 vaccine
August 28, 2020 GMTLONDON (AP) — Britain is preparing to revise its laws to allow the emergency use of any effective coronavirus vaccine before it is fully licensed — but only if the shots meet required safety and quality standards...
PNG demands China explain COVID-19 vaccine trial on miners
August 21, 2020 GMTCANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Papua New Guinea blocked the arrival of a flight carrying workers from China after a Chinese mine operator said its employees were given a coronavirus vaccine in a possible unauthorized trial, authorities said Friday...
UN: Discussions with Russia on COVID-19 vaccine under way
August 20, 2020 GMTLONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization’s Europe office said it has begun discussions with Russia to try to obtain more information about the experimental COVID-19 vaccine the country recently approved...
Trail of bubbles leads scientists to new coronavirus clue
August 19, 2020 GMTA doctor checking comatose COVID-19 patients for signs of a stroke instead stumbled onto a new clue about how the virus may harm the lungs -- thanks to a test that used tiny air bubbles and a robot...
Indonesia takes part in late-stage China vaccine trial
August 14, 2020 GMTJAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — More people in Indonesia rolled up their sleeves Friday to test a potential coronavirus vaccine developed by a Chinese company...
Companies test antibody drugs to treat, prevent COVID-19
August 12, 2020 GMTWith a coronavirus vaccine still months off, companies are rushing to test what may be the next best thing: drugs that deliver antibodies to fight the virus right away, without having to train the immune system to make them...
Science and politics tied up in global race for a vaccine
August 12, 2020 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — No, Russia isn't having a Sputnik moment.
The announcement Tuesday by Russian President Vladimir Putin that MOSCOW (AP) — Russia boasts that it’s about to become the first country to approve a COVID-19 vaccine, with mass vaccinations planned as early as October using shots that are yet to complete clinical trials -- and scientists worldwide are sounding the alarm that the headlong rush could backfire...Russia’s race for virus vaccine raises concerns in the West
August 7, 2020 GMT
Debate begins for who’s first in line for COVID-19 vaccine
August 2, 2020 GMTWho gets to be first in line for a COVID-19 vaccine? U.S. health authorities hope by late next month to have some draft guidance on how to ration initial doses, but it’s a vexing decision...
US sinks another $2.1 billion into a potential vaccine
July 31, 2020 GMTLONDON (AP) — Pharma giants GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi Pasteur have announced they will supply 100 million doses of an experimental COVID-19 vaccine to the United States as governments buy up supplies in hopes of securing a candidate that works...
UK scientists to immunize hundreds with coronavirus vaccine
July 30, 2020 GMTLONDON (AP) — Scientists at Imperial College London say they are immunizing hundreds of people with an experimental coronavirus vaccine in an early trial after seeing no worrying safety problems in a small number vaccinated so far...
Early in pandemic, frantic doctors traded tips across oceans
July 29, 2020 GMTAmid the chaos of the pandemic’s early days, doctors who faced the first coronavirus onslaught reached across oceans and language barriers in an unprecedented effort to advise colleagues trying to save lives in the dark...
Virus vaccine put to final test in thousands of volunteers
July 27, 2020 GMTThe world’s biggest COVID-19 vaccine study got underway Monday with the first of 30,000 planned volunteers helping to test shots created by the U...
US signs contract with Pfizer for COVID-19 vaccine doses
July 22, 2020 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration will pay Pfizer nearly $2 billion for a December delivery of 100 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine the pharmaceutical company is developing, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced Wednesday...
Virus antibodies fade fast but not necessarily protection
July 22, 2020 GMTNew research suggests that antibodies the immune system makes to fight the new coronavirus may only last a few months in people with mild illness, but that doesn’t mean protection also is gone or that it won’t be possible to develop an effective vaccine...
UK coronavirus vaccine prompts immune response in early test
July 20, 2020 GMTLONDON (AP) — Scientists at Oxford University say their experimental coronavirus vaccine has been shown in an early trial to prompt a protective immune response in hundreds of people who got the shot...
Chinese executives get ‘pre-test’ injections in vaccine race
July 16, 2020 GMTBEIJING (AP) — In the global race to make a coronavirus vaccine, a state-owned Chinese company is boasting that its employees, including top executives, received experimental shots even before the government approved testing in people...
First COVID-19 vaccine tested in US poised for final testing
July 14, 2020 GMTThe first COVID-19 vaccine tested in the U.S. revved up people’s immune systems just the way scientists had hoped, researchers reported Tuesday -- as the shots are poised to begin key final testing...
Global vaccine plan may allow rich countries to buy more
July 14, 2020 GMTLONDON (AP) — Politicians and public health leaders have publicly committed to equitably sharing any coronavirus vaccine that works, but the top global initiative to make that happen may allow rich countries to reinforce their own stockpiles while making fewer doses available for poor ones...
US bets on untested company to deliver COVID-19 vaccine
July 10, 2020 GMTWhen precious vats of COVID-19 vaccine are finally ready, jabbing the lifesaving solution into the arms of Americans will require hundreds of millions of injections...
Health experts slam US deal for large supply of virus drug
July 1, 2020 GMTLONDON (AP) — Public health experts on Wednesday criticized the U.S. for securing a large supply of the only drug licensed so far to treat COVID-19...
Gilead’s $2,340 price for coronavirus drug draws criticism
June 29, 2020 GMTThe maker of a drug shown to shorten recovery time for severely ill COVID-19 patients says it will charge $2,340 for a typical treatment course for people covered by government health programs in the United States and other developed countries...
Summer may decide fate of leading shots in vaccine race
June 28, 2020 GMTPeople on six continents already are getting jabs in the arm as the race for a COVID-19 vaccine enters a defining summer, with even bigger studies poised to prove if any shot really works -- and maybe offer a reality check...