• Lancet publishes the John Snow Memorandum, to counter the Great Barrington Declaration (see October 15), which has been endorsed by the Trump administration. The Memorandum states that “Any pandemic management strategy relying upon immunity from natural infections for COVID-19 is flawed. Furthermore, there is no evidence for lasting protective immunity to SARS-CoV-2 following natural infection, and the endemic transmission that would be the consequence of waning immunity would present a risk to vulnerable populations for the indefinite future. Such a strategy would not end the COVID-19 pandemic but result in recurrent epidemics, as was the case with numerous infectious diseases before the advent of vaccination.” Sources 1,2
• Russian President Vladimir Putin announces approval of a coronavirus vaccine produced by a former biological weapons research laboratory, the Vector State Virology and Biotechnology Center in Siberia. The vaccine has been given to 100 participants in phase I and II trials; there is no peer-reviewed, published data on its safety and efficacy. Source
