The development of a vaccine against COVID-19

"Since the start of the Coronavirus outbreak, thousands of people have either fallen ill or lost their lives to this virulent virus. Medical services have also been stretched to their limits. Hopes are being pinned on the development of a vaccine to protect society from the disease".* More and more questions concern about the a potential and the ethical issues surrounding the development and distribution of a vaccine.

*More at: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2020-09/uk-bishops-on-ethical-concerns-of-potential-covid-19-vaccine.html

**Further reading: https://www.catholicweekly.com.au/archbishop-fisher-op-lets-not-create-an-ethical-dilemma/ ; http://www.bioethics.org.uk/images/user/covidbriefing2.pdf; https://lozierinstitute.org/an-ethics-assessment-of-covid-19-vaccine-programs/

***COMECE  - https://www.tkkbs.sk/view.php?cisloclanku=20201123034;
https://ec.europa.eu/info/live-work-travel-eu/coronavirus-response/public-health_sk;
http://www.comece.eu/site/en/home;  

****USCCB - https://www.catholicnews.com/use-of-pfizer-moderna-covid-19-vaccines-is-morally-acceptable-say-bishops/

*****KBS: https://www.kbs.sk/obsah/sekcia/h/dokumenty-a-vyhlasenia/p/dokumenty-kbs/c/stanovisko-konferencie-biskupov-slovenska-k-ockovaniu-proti-covid-19, 

https://www.kbs.sk/obsah/sekcia/h/dokumenty-a-vyhlasenia/p/dokumenty-vatikanskych-uradov/c/vakcina-s-rovnym-pristupom-pre-vsetkych

https://www.health.gov.sk/Zdroje?/Sources/psd-subory/Infografiky-psd.zip

Picture: https://theconversation.com/infecting-a-volunteer-with-coronavirus-to-develop-a-vaccine-heres-what-consent-should-look-like-139884

US Trial to study cord blood stem cells' effects on autism

Stem cell researchers are launching the first FDA-approved clinical trial to examine whether cord blood stem cells can improve the condition of children with autism. “This is the start of a new age of research in stem cell therapies for chronic diseases such as autism, and a natural step to determine whether patients receive some benefit from an infusion of their own cord blood stem cells,” Dr. Michael Chez, the study’s principal investigator, said Aug. 21. Dr. Chez is the director of Pediatric Neurology with the Sutter Neuroscience Institute in Sacramento, Calif. The institute has joined with the major stem cell bank CBR (Cord Blood Registry) to examine the effect of the stem cell therapy on autistic children. The clinical study will enroll 30 children ages two through seven who are diagnosed with autism and meet other criteria, CBR says. Participants will receive two infusions, one of the child’s own cord blood stem cells and one of a placebo, over 13 months. The trial intends to determine whether the cells help improve patients’ language and behavior. One in 88 children in the U.S. are diagnosed with autism, a developmental disorder that affects social, language and behavioral skills. Chez said there is evidence that some autistic children have dysfunctional immune systems that damage or delay their nervous system development. “Cord blood stem cells may offer ways to modulate or repair the immune systems of these patients which would also improve language and some behavior in children who have no obvious reason to have become autistic,” he said. Umbilical cord blood contains unique stem cells that have been used for more than 20 years to treat some cancers, blood diseases and immune disorders. Dr. Maureen L. Condic, associate professor of Neurobiology and Anatomy at the University of Utah, told CNA she is “intrigued” by the study but “cautious.” “Autism is a very complex and poorly understood condition,” she said Aug. 22. Umbilical cord stem cells are obtained from a patient at birth and are therefore genetically identical to the patient. This means that they will not be rejected by the patient’s immune system. Embryonic stem cells, by contrast, are obtained from human embryos destroyed to produce stem cells. “They are likely to be rejected by the patient's immune system, unless the patient is treated with immune-suppressing drugs,” she added. “Undifferentiated embryonic stem cells produce tumors when injected into patients, and cannot be used for therapies without first manipulating these cells to produce a mature cell type.” Catholic ethics rejects the use of embryonic stem cells because they are derived from destroying a human embryo.

...written by Kevin J. Jones

* See more at http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/trial-to-study-cord-blood-stem-cells-effects-on-autism/

Recent Advances in Adult Stem Cell Research

For all interested in recent advances in Adult Stem Cell Research and other alternatives to Embryonic Stem Cell Research see article by DoNoHarm: The Coalition of Americans for Research Ethics, "75 NEW REASONS TO RECONSIDER THE ALLEGED NEED FOR STEM CELL RESEARCH THAT DESTROYS HUMAN EMBRYOS".
See full article at: http://www.stemcellresearch.org/alternatives/75newreasons.pdf

An Vatican conference on Adult Stem Cells: Science and the Future of Man and Culture

An interesting article to share. I thought this is worth sharing amongst those who's been reading about adult stem-cell research. "A Vatican conference (http://adultstemcellconference.org) could help influence public figures to get behind adult stem-cell research, much in the way Michael J. Fox is lobbying for embryonic stem-cell research. That’s the hope of Dr. Robin Smith, CEO of NeoStem, an international biopharmaceutical firm based in New York. The Nov. 9-11 conference, “Adult Stem Cells: Science and the Future of Man and Culture,” will bring Church leaders, policymakers, government health ministers and ambassadors to the Holy See together with scientists, stem-cell companies and patients who have participated in adult stem-cell trials.

The gathering will feature Tommy Thompson, former U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services; Jesuit Father Kevin FitzGerald, a bioethicist at Georgetown; TV medical correspondent Max Gomez; Arthur Caplan, a bioethicist at the University of Pennsylvania, and others. It is the first public event sponsored by NeoStem and the Pontifical Council for Culture since the two entered into a formal partnership last year. The conference is part of a larger plan to foster education and networking in support of ethical research.

“The most important thing we can do now is gather people,” said Father Tomasz Trafny, head of the Science and Faith Department of the Pontifical Council for Culture. “We want to invite scientists, Church leaders, organizations that are working in that field of research to come, to approach us.”

Their efforts are being made at a time when there is still much support for embryonic stem-cell research, both in the public funding of it and the fact that it is a cause célèbre with certain public figures.

David Prentice, senior fellow for life sciences in the Family Research Council’s Center for Human Life and Bioethics, is also on the program for this week’s conference.

“It is certainly significant that the Vatican is partnering with NeoStem, since the Vatican fully supports ethical stem-cell research and treatments (adult stem cells) but rejects anything that endangers human life or involves unethical aspects, i.e., embryonic stem-cell research,” he said. “It is very encouraging that the Vatican would place resources toward adult stem-cell research. This is not empty rhetoric, but putting the resources to work to advance ethical and successful adult stem-cell therapies, and should hasten the development of real treatments using ethical adult stem cells.” Indeed, as part of the deal, the Vatican contributed $1 million toward NeoStem’s efforts.

Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/site/article%20/vatican-n.y.-firm-connect-on-bioethics/#ixzz1dQriQPU8
**Permission from NCR, 2011.

Embryonic stem cells: authorisation of the 1st clinical trial in Europe

For those interested in question concerning the use of human embryonic and adult stem cells:

"On 22 September 2011, the American biotechnology company Advanced Cell Technology (ACT) announced the forthcoming launch of the first clinical trial to be carried out in Europe using human embryonic stem cells (Cf. Press Review of 22-26/11/10). Authorised by the British Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the Gene Therapy Advisory Committee, this trial is designed to find a treatment for Stargardt disease, a form of macular degeneration leading to blindness in young people. It will be carried out at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London.

In November 2010 in the United States, ACT had already undertaken a first clinical trial, for the same disease, based on by-products of human embryonic stem cells. Two American patients took part. "We are very pleased with the results and we are currently programming two new trials on two other patients", states Bob Lanza, Chief Scientific Officer at ACT.

There is considerable debate in Europe and the United States on the use of human embryonic stem cells in the search for treatments. These cells are in fact taken from the human embryo in the first days of its development and their collection involves its destruction.

In an opinion column in the French medical daily Le Quotidien du Médecin, Prof. Claude Huriet comments on the discovery made by Prof Luc Douay and his team who managed to produce blood from adult stem cells (Cf. Press Review of 02/09/11). He writes that this will put an end to the confrontation in the field of regenerative medicine between those in favour of the use of human embryonic stem cells and those working on adult stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS). This second approach, writes Prof. Huriet, "was rejected by researchers whose often aggressive reactions, reported in the media, were marked more by ideological considerations than based on objective scientific argument. (...) Twenty years later, with research on the embryonic cells having shown their limits for therapeutic uses, adult stem cells are henceforth ‘the cells of hope’". This opposition between researchers in France had the "indirect consequence in our country of delaying awareness of the advantage of using placental blood cells, now proven." Prof. Huriet notes that the current results clearly confirm "the expertise acquired by researchers in reprogramming the mechanisms of cell division." They also show that "while innovations in the field of the life sciences arouse ethical reactions often regarded as obstacles to innovation, it sometimes happens that these ethical objections stimulate the imagination of researchers and finally lead to progress! Who could quarrel with that?" he asks."

Source: AFP 22/09/11 - Le Quotidien du médecin.fr 22/09/11
Permission: Gènéthique/Press review-19/09/11 - 23/09/11