• The CDC advises public health officials across the US to prepare for distribution of a coronavirus vaccine to healthcare, national security and other essential workers and people who are members of vulnerable/high-risk groups (including people age 65 and over, Native Americans and other racial and ethnic minority populations and prisoners) as early as late October or early November – immediately before the upcoming presidential election. The CDC guidance was released on the same day as President Trump predicted that a vaccine might be available before the end of the year in a speech at the Republican National Convention. The plan refers to “vaccine A” and “vaccine B”, which appear to be from Moderna and Pfizer (who says their vaccine candidate may be ready for government review by October). Source
• WHO issues a Living Guidance recommending systemic corticosteroids for treating people with severe or critical COVID-19; they are not recommended for treating non-severe cases of COVID-19. Source
• Results from a 131-person, placebo-controlled phase I/II trial of two different doses of Novavax’s experimental coronavirus vaccine, NVX-CoV2373, with or without an adjuvant, 21 days apart, are released. Post-vaccination immune responses were compared with convalescent plasma samples from people with asymptomatic, moderate or severe cases of COVID-19. The vaccine was safe, and people who received both doses of the vaccine with the adjuvant had similar immune responses to those among people who had been hospitalized with COVID-19, mounting both antibody and T-cell responses. Source
