USA News

On the 12th local time, US media reported that due to unexplained symptoms of participants, Johnson & Johnson’s ongoing research on the new crown vaccine has been suspended.

According to the US health media STAT News, the media obtained documents issued by Johnson & Johnson to researchers. The document stated that the “suspension rule” has taken effect and the online system used to recruit patients has also been shut down. In addition, an independent committee responsible for monitoring data and security has already met on the 12th.

The vaccinators have unexplained symptoms. According to overseas websites, Johnson & Johnson confirmed in its response to the media that the study has been suspended, saying it was because “a participant had an unexplained illness” and refused to provide more. information. The company statement reads: “We must respect the personal privacy of participants. We are now understanding the symptoms, and we must sort out all the facts before sharing more information.”

However, Johnson & Johnson also emphasized that symptoms, accidents and other medical problems may all appear in clinical research. It also emphasized the difference between “study pause” and “clinical hold”, the latter being a more formal and longer-lasting regulatory action. The US media pointed out that although it is not uncommon for clinical research to be suspended, vaccine research during the epidemic is significantly more concerned.

Prior to this, Johnson & Johnson announced on September 23 that the new crown vaccine candidate developed by the company has entered clinical phase III trials. The experiment will be conducted in the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, and South Africa, and the number of volunteers will reach 60,000.

A source said that under this scale, even if the problem is resolved this time, a new situation may arise.

In fact, Johnson & Johnson is not the first company to encounter twists and turns in clinical trials.

In early September, the University of Oxford/AstraZeneca stated that AstraZeneca had suspended clinical trials of the new crown vaccine due to a suspected serious adverse reaction in a British clinical trial participant. After the news came out, AstraZeneca’s stock price fell 8% after the market.

However, after a six-day shutdown, the Oxford University/AstraZeneca Phase III clinical trial of the new crown vaccine was restarted in the UK. The University of Oxford said that after a quick assessment, the Independent Safety Evaluation Board and government regulators believe that it is safe to continue to vaccinate people.

Once successful in rhesus monkeys and hamsters, the current new crown vaccine is in the stage of accelerating research and development.

In the research and development of overseas companies, adenovirus vector vaccines and mRNA vaccines have made the most rapid progress. In the adenovirus vector epidemic, the vaccine products of Oxford University/AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson entered clinical phase III trials; in nucleic acid vaccines, BioNTech/Pfizer’s mRNA vaccines and Moderna’s mRNA vaccine entered clinical phase III trials.

In July, Johnson & Johnson announced in the journal Nature that the company’s new coronavirus vaccine candidate, Ad26.COV2.S, triggered an immune response in preclinical studies in non-human primates (NHP). The study of “Nature” shows that Ad26.COV2.S only needs to be vaccinated once, which can not only stimulate powerful neutralizing antibodies and cellular immune responses in non-human primate models, but also achieve the goal in subsequent challenge experiments on animals. The effect of complete protection or almost complete protection.

A group of researchers led by Dr. Dan H. Barouch, an immunologist at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), conducted a study in 52 rhesus monkeys: using 7 different versions of the adenovirus serotype 26 vector COVID-19 One of the vaccines (hereinafter referred to as Ad26 vaccine) gave 32 adult rhesus monkeys a single dose, and provided a sham vaccine to another 20 rhesus monkeys as a placebo control. All rhesus monkeys vaccinated with Ad26 produced neutralizing antibodies. Six weeks after vaccination, all rhesus monkeys were exposed to SARS-CoV-2. All 20 rhesus monkeys that received the fake vaccine were infected and showed high levels of virus in their lungs and nasal swabs. Among the 6 rhesus monkeys vaccinated with the best candidate vaccine Ad26.COV2.S among the Ad26 vaccines, none of the rhesus monkeys had the virus in the lungs, and only one rhesus had low levels of the virus in the nasal swabs .

On September 4, Johnson & Johnson announced that Ad26.COV2.S has achieved new positive results in preclinical studies. The data published in Nature Medicine on the same day showed that Ad26.COV2.S triggered the production of neutralizing antibodies in Syrian golden hamsters and prevented severe clinical symptoms of new coronary pneumonia, including weight loss, pneumonia and death.

Received a $1 billion bet by the U.S. government. According to The Paper, citing PR Newswire reports, on August 5 this year, Johnson & Johnson announced that its subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals had reached an agreement with the U.S. government on large-scale domestic production and delivery. After approval or emergency use authorization by the Drug Administration (FDA), 100 million doses of the new crown vaccine Ad26.COV2.S will be produced and used in the United States on a large scale.

Johnson & Johnson pointed out in the news that the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Agency (BARDA) and the U.S. Department of Defense will invest more than $1 billion in implementing this agreement. According to the subsequent agreement, the US government can also purchase another 200 million doses of the new crown vaccine.

In early October, according to Reuters, the European Commission stated that it had reached a supply agreement with Johnson & Johnson to supply its candidate new crown pneumonia vaccine to up to 400 million people. This is also after the EU reached a deal with AstraZeneca and Sanofi. The third pre-purchase contract signed with the COVID-19 vaccine manufacturer.

It is reported that the EU is using about 2 billion euros from an emergency fund to try to finalize pre-purchase agreements with a number of vaccine manufacturers to secure sufficient vaccine supplies for the EU’s 450 million population.

“Secondary infection” enhances the urgency of vaccines According to Worldometer’s real-time statistics, as of about 6:30 on October 13, Beijing time, a total of 8034799 cases of new coronary pneumonia have been confirmed in the United States, and a total of 219,998 deaths. Compared with the data at 6:30 the previous day, there were 42,801 new confirmed cases and 303 new deaths in the United States.

The latest forecast from the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation of the University of Washington shows that by February 2021, the number of new coronary pneumonia deaths in the United States may increase by another 181,000. Anthony Fauci, the chief infectious disease expert in the United States, said when talking about predictions that he hoped that the shocking numbers would make the public realize the importance of epidemic prevention.

In an interview with CNN on the 12th, Fauci pointed out: “I hope these figures…make the American people realize that we can’t let this kind of thing (a surge in deaths) happen, because the epidemic in the United States is getting worse now. As we enter the cold season, this is the most terrifying thing.”

On October 12, the authoritative core medical journal “The Lancet” published a paper titled “Genomic Evidence for Reinfection of New Coronary Pneumonia: A Case Study”, stating that a 25-year-old man in the United States became the first case of secondary infection with new crown in the United States. Cases, and the second infection was more serious than the first.

According to the paper, this is a 25-year-old resident of Wausau County, Nevada, USA, 6 weeks between the two infections. On April 18 this year, the patient tested positive in the community. During the follow-up in May, the patient was tested again and the two tests showed negative results. However, on June 5, the patient’s test results were again positive.

It is worth noting that the patient’s second infection of the virus has changed compared with the first time, and the symptoms of infection are more serious than the first time. They need supplemental oxygen and are admitted to the hospital after shortness of breath.

The paper pointed out that patients who have previously been infected with the new coronavirus may not be able to ensure that they are fully resistant to the virus in all cases. Therefore, for everyone, regardless of whether they have been diagnosed with COVID-19, they should take the same precautions to avoid infection.

The example of this man warned the medical community about how long people can stay immune after contracting the new crown and how effective the vaccine is.

The researchers said that reports of reinfection suggest that achieving widespread population immunity to the new coronavirus without a vaccine may be challenging.

Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, commented: “Most of us (scientists) believe that as individual immune levels decline after infection, secondary infections of the new coronavirus may become very common.”

Akiko Iwasaki, professor of immunobiology at Yale University, said that secondary infections tell us that people cannot rely on the immunity gained from natural infections to obtain herd immunity, and “herd immunity still needs safe and effective vaccines.”

It is worth noting that on October 11, local time, US President Trump tweeted: “Yesterday I received a full and complete signature from the White House doctor. This means that I will not get the new crown (immunization) again, nor will I be infected. . Glad to know this.” Later, this tweet was marked by Twitter as a misleading statement.

The President of the United States who is undergoing the new coronary artery therapy was discharged from the hospital on the evening of the 5th Eastern Time and returned to the White House, but his medical team said that he was not cured.

The live video showed, and he walked out of the gate of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland through a mask, took a car to the presidential helicopter and boarded the plane. During the entire return journey, he may not speak to reporters.

In the early morning of about 2nd, it was confirmed that he and his wife Melania had contracted the new coronavirus and were sent to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for treatment in the evening of the same day.

“Big Rock” Johnson infected with the new crown! American Variety Show said on the 3rd that Hollywood action star En Johnson announced on social media that he and his family were infected with the new crown virus. At the same time, he called on the public to pay attention to epidemic prevention, abandon political interpretation, and wear masks to avoid gatherings.

From the video, Johnson is in a good state of mind. He revealed that he was infected by a “close friend” two and a half weeks ago. “This is one of the most challenging and difficult things that our family can endure. This has hit me hard. I really wish I was the only one (infected).” Fortunately, the Johnson family’s condition is not serious. The daughter just has an uncomfortable throat, and he and his wife have only early symptoms. “We persisted.” After the Johnsons have persisted in treatment and isolation, they have recovered and are no longer contagious. The purpose of publicizing the illness this time is to call on the public to pay attention to the epidemic, “Don’t trust those politicians and politicize wearing masks. Wearing masks is not only responsible for yourself and your family, but also for all human beings.”

Johnson was born in a wrestling family in 1972 and was a star player in the World Professional Wrestling League (WWE). The nickname of “Big Rock” comes from the arena. After that, he successfully crossed the film industry. In 2001, he participated in the blockbuster film “The Mummy 2”, participated in the “Speed ​​and Passion” series and the restarted “Game of the Brave” series, and became a top Hollywood superstar. It has been determined that he will star in the DC universe superhero movie “Black Adam”. According to “Forbes” 2020 Global Celebrity List, Johnson ranks tenth with an annual income of US$87.5 million, and is the highest-ranked movie star on the list. On the list last year and the year before, he is also one of Hollywood’s top “suckers”. Big family”.

The current situation of the new crown epidemic in Europe and the United States is still severe. In the past, many film and television stars have been recruited. In March of this year, Oscar actor Tom Hanks publicly contracted the new crown and used his influence to warn the public to beware of the epidemic. Subsequently, the “bond girl” Oga Kurylenko, the British black actor Idris Elba, and the famous Spanish tenor Placido Domingo, who played in the “007 Break Quantum Crisis”, were successively infected. .

Last month, Spanish actor Antonio Banderas, world-renowned for his “Mask of Zorro,” revealed that he had to spend his 60th birthday in isolation because he tested positive for the new crown. Fortunately, these stars have mild symptoms and sufficient medical resources, and now they have basically recovered. But the 89-year-old Italian actress Lucia Posse and the 70-year-old Japanese comedian Ken Shimura passed away due to a serious illness, which is embarrassing.

“After Haruma Miura committed suicide, Yuko Takeuchi, who had collaborated with him, also committed suicide. This is a really sad year.” According to a report by Japan’s Sankei Shimbun on the 27th, the well-known Japanese actress Yuko Takeuchi was at 2 a.m. that day. He was found to have hanged himself at his home in Tokyo. The police said he might have committed suicide and are investigating the specific cause of death.

Many Japanese netizens expressed their shock and condolences, “Since high school, Takeuchi has always been my favorite type. She is my youth.” On Japanese Twitter, “Reviewing Takeuchi Yuko’s work through everyone’s voice” became a popular vocabulary on the 27th. Yuko Takeuchi, 40, is the mother of two children. In acting career, because most of her roles are lovable and smile friendly, she is also called “Queen of Smiles”. In 2002, “Lunch Queen” starring Yuko Takeuchi received widespread attention; in 2004, “Lover on Ice” starring her and Takuya Kimura also impressed many Chinese audiences. With these two dramas, Yuko Takeuchi won the 6th and 7th Japanese Drama Awards for Best Actress. In addition, the movie “The Bell at Midnight”, starring “Strawberry Night” and “Sherlock Goddess” are also well known by Chinese audiences.

As Takeuchi’s first film when he was 18 years old, Hideo Nakata, director of “Midnight Bell” recalled on Twitter, “When the female high school student in “Midnight Bell” was casting, I wanted to let her Come to play this role. (Now) I am very sorry and express my condolences.” In the film “The Deception of the World JP: The Princess”, which was screened during the Shanghai Film Festival in July this year, Yuko Takeuchi and Haruma Miura, who committed suicide recently, both Participating in the performance, the group photo and video of the two on the set was embarrassing. And because Takeuchi Yuko is well-known in Japan, especially “Arashi” member Ninomiya Kazu also regards her as her favorite actress. Therefore, on the Sino-Japanese social network, many netizens are worried about Ninomiya Kazuya and hope him Don’t be too sad.

Haruma Miura, Star Ashina, Takashi Fujiki, Yuko Takeuchi… This year there have been reports of many Japanese artists committing suicide. Associate Professor Fujii Yasushi of the Department of Psychology at Japan Star University said, “Many entertainment stars can’t talk about their inner pressure and anxiety. They are under tremendous pressure in acting and personal image, and some artists can’t bear it and choose to commit suicide.” Fujii Yasushi believes that fans and society Need to be more forgiving. There are also views that entertainment stars need to make timely self-adjustments, such as receiving psychological treatment, communicating with family and friends, and releasing pressure in a timely manner.