The Canadian PM Justin Trudeau announced this morning that funding is going to vaccine development in our country, including at my alma mater the University of Saskatchewan VIDO-Intervac. The YouTube video is currently live and visible later here.
Clinical trials are underway in two facilities in the U.S. Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle being the first in the U.S. to start clinical trials. But be aware that these take time to run, to ensure that the vaccine is both safe and effective. For more info on these developments in the U.S. see this video.
Treatment development is also in the works, and globally using the WHO’s Solidarity trials, where we are sharing information on effective treatments worldwide.
Edit March 29, 2020: Collaborations between scientific institutions strengthen research. Here is the news that VIDO is collaborating with IVI of South Korea on SARS-CoV-2 research.
Edit April 3, 2020:
After the Ontario Premier stood at the podium to tell us the prediction models projected for our province, I knew all along that this was not a battle that was going to be over in two weeks. Projections could mean 15,000 Ontarians pass away from the disease. Premier Ford is implementing even tougher rules for essential businesses. So, it seems like the only way out is to develop an effective vaccine. We’re still waiting on results of clinical trials. Stay tuned...
