So, what is the truth about vaccine trials?
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said Africa will not be targeted as the stage for vaccine trials. Trials, instead, are being staged in participating countries from around the world.
“Africa can’t and won’t be a testing ground for any vaccine,” said WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on April 6.
As at April 4, 60 candidate vaccines had been registered with the WHO. Two, one in China and another in the US, are already being tested on humans. The rest are in the pre-clinical trial stage, which means they are not yet ready for human tests.
On March 18, the WHO launched the start of the global clinical trial for antivirals that could potentially be used to treat the new coronavirus, a programme called “Solidarity”. Under this trial, four therapies are being tested. Some of these are already being used in Africa for different diseases.
Here are the four therapies being tested by the WHO and its partners:
Remdesivir – this was previously tested as an Ebola treatment. According to the WHO, it has generated promising results in animal studies for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which are also caused by coronaviruses, suggesting it may have some effect in patients with COVID-19.
A combination of Lopinavir and Ritonavir – this is a licensed treatment for HIV. Evidence for COVID-19, MERS and SARS is yet to show it can improve clinical outcomes or prevent infection. This trial aims to identify and confirm any benefit for COVID-19 patients.
Interferon beta-1a – used to treat multiple sclerosis.
Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine – closely related, these used to treat malaria and rheumatology conditions respectively. In China and France, small studies provided some indications of possible benefit of chloroquine phosphate against pneumonia caused by COVID-19 but need confirmation through randomized trials.
Of the more than 300 clinical trials that have launched to find a treatment for COVID-19, most are in China and South Korea, according to research journal Nature.
Early trial entrants are from Europe, where countries have some of the highest COVID-19 cases. As at the start of April, the only country in Africa to have formally joined the trial is South Africa. Senegal and Burkina Faso — which have some of the most COVID-19 cases in the continent — were in the process of being enrolled. In total, some 25 countries from around the world had expressed an interest, according to Nature journal.
According to WHO guidelines, clinical trials involve consenting adults. Eligible patients are asked to sign to show they understand the possible risks and benefits and consent to joining the study. Health authorities in each participating country are required to clear drugs so that they can be imported, and the trial must be vetted by regulators for safety, and by ethics-review boards.
Verdict
Claims that Africa will be used to stage COVID-19 vaccine trials have been debunked by the WHO. There is also no evidence that Bill Gates has said he intends to target Africa for trials. Claims that vaccines will involve the insertion of microchips into people, as claimed by Pastor Makandiwa, are false.- ZimFact
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