CSIRO experts comment on the TGA’s approval of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
Dr Rob Grenfell, CSIRO Director of Health and Biosecurity
“Scientists from around the world, including Australia, came together to solve one of the biggest challenges of our time, and for the first time in history we have not one but several safe and effective vaccines against a human coronavirus.
“CSIRO is proud that Australia played a role in the validation and development of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
“CSIRO scientists conducted pre-clinical trials of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine at our Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness in Geelong, and CSIRO staff have been seconded to CSL to support manufacture of the vaccine in Melbourne.
Sydney Morning Herald are launching
Examine, a new weekly science newsletter written by national science reporter Liam Mannix. You can sign up here (itâs free). The second edition is below.
At CSLâs Broadmeadows plant, bubbling away inside giant stainless steel bioreactors, is a vaccine Health Minister Greg Hunt calls Australiaâs âace in the holeâ.
CSLâs Broadmeadows laboratory, where AstraZenecaâs vaccine is being made.
Credit:Chris Hopkins
Fifty million doses of AstraZenecaâs COVID-19 vaccine â enough to immunise the entire country. The company is days away from starting to put it into glass vials. The federal government has signalled it hopes to begin immunisation in March â assuming, of course, the vaccine wins approval from Australiaâs drugs regulator.
COVID-19, Hendra and SARS: How scientists trace viruses through animals to their source
Posted
TueTuesday 9
updated
TueTuesday 9
FebFebruary 2021 at 11:55pm
Virologists eventually figured out that civets and camels transmit SARS and MERS coronaviruses to humans, but the original source for both viruses was bats.
(
Share
Print text only
Cancel
The first mission to Wuhan in search of the source of SARS-CoV-2 the virus that causes COVID-19 wrapped up this week.
More than a dozen experts from around the world, including epidemiologists, veterinarians, medical doctors and virologists, spent the past fortnight looking for clues to the virus s origins.
Last night, at a press conference, World Health Organization food safety and animal diseases expert Peter Ben Embarek said the coronavirus is unlikely to have leaked from a Chinese lab, and most probably jumped to humans via an intermediary species.
Advertisement
Australian health authorities have backed AstraZenecaâs vaccine despite a decision by South African authorities to delay rolling out the jab after early clinical data showed it offered minimal protection against the COVID-19 variant spreading through that country.
Health Minister Greg Hunt on Monday confirmed AstraZenecaâs vaccine would start arriving in Australia in early March.
Health Minister Greg Hunt and Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
âThe advice I received both from the Chief Medical Officer in writing and in discussion with the head of the vaccineâs taskforce Professor Brendan Murphy this morning is preliminary, but there is currently no evidence to indicate a reduction in the effectiveness of the AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccines in preventing severe disease or death,â Mr Hunt said.
But the vaccines being produced by Moderna, Pfizer and AstraZeneca all generate much higher levels of immunity than natural infection alone and because of that scientists expect them to still cover variants of the virus that cut the effectiveness of vaccine-induced antibodies.
Three new studies, none of which have yet been peer reviewed, suggest that will be the case.
Advertisement
Natural infection â and vaccines â generate a very wide variety of antibodies, each designed to attach themselves to a different part of the virus.
Antibodies that stick to COVID-19âs spike â the cellular harpoon SARS-CoV-2 uses to bind to human cells â are key, because they can block the virus from infected cells.