Vaccine Makers Face Biggest Medical Manufacturing Feat in History
2020-06-30
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1From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.
2Much of the world is watching and waiting for researchers to develop a vaccine for the disease COVID-19.
3But making enough of the vaccine to end the coronavirus health crisis will be the biggest medical manufacturing feat in history.
4That work has started.
5Researchers are currently setting up testing, involving 10,000 to 30,000 volunteers for every candidate vaccine.
6These scientists say they hope to get an answer on whether a vaccine works by as early as this October.
7However, health officials face a hard reality.
8The developer of an effective vaccine may not be able to make and deliver billions of doses all at once.
9The Reuters news agency spoke with over 10 vaccine developers and suppliers.
10The U.S. government has partnered with Johnson & Johnson on a $1 billion investment to speed up development and production of its vaccine, even before it is proven to work.
11Johnson & Johnson signed a deal with two other businesses, Emergent Biosolutions and Catalent, to manufacture large amounts in the United States.
12Catalent will also do some fill-and-finish work.
13"Never in history has so much vaccine been developed at the same time - so that capacity doesn't exist," said Paul Stoffels.
14He is the chief scientific officer at Johnson & Johnson.
15He said he believes that filling capacity is the main limiting factor.
16Seth Berkley is head of GAVI, the vaccines alliance.
17He told Reuters that experts estimate having "one to two billion doses of vaccine in the first year, spread out over the world population."
18He added that it is unlikely to go straight from having zero vaccines to having enough doses for everyone.
19GAVI is a project of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
20Its aim is to increase the availability of vaccines -- and immunization rates -- in developing countries.
21Colonel Nelson Michael is the director of the U.S. Army's Center for Infectious Disease Research.
22He is working on a government project aimed at delivering a COVID-19 vaccine to the world by January 2021.
23Michael says that companies usually have years to develop vaccines.
24"Now," he said, "they have weeks."
25But one of the biggest issues is an untested supply chain: How to get the vaccine to people around the world?
26Any problem in the supply chain could delay or even wreck the whole process.
27And there could be other problems.
28In other words, logistics - the term for organizing a complex operation such as this -- is a major concern.
29"This is the biggest logistical challenge the world has ever faced," said Toby Peters.
30He is an engineering and technology expert with Britain's Birmingham University.
31Peters told Reuters, "We could be looking at vaccinating 60% of the (world's) population."
32Companies and governments must improve machines to be able to fill that demand.
33Currently there are not enough machines that can fill and package the vaccines for delivery.
34Once ready for shipping, many vaccines need to be kept very cold.
35Some of the more promising vaccines are made from genetic material -- such as messenger RNA, or mRNA vaccines.
36"People who work with mRNA store it at minus 80 degrees centigrade," said Paul Offit, a co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine.
37He noted that such conditions are not available at most doctor's offices.
38He is a doctor and directs the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
39Peters of Birmingham University has been gathering information from poorer countries in Africa and Asia.
40He said that breaks in the temperature-controlled supply chain are already happening.
41Companies such as Moderna are working to make candidate vaccines that remain stable at higher temperatures.
42Colleen Hussey is a spokesperson for Moderna.
43She told Reuters that for a short amount of time, these vaccines can be stored in refrigeration equipment found in doctors' offices or medical centers.
44She added, "We will know more in the next 2-3 months."
45And that's the Health & Lifestyle report. I'm Anna Matteo.
1From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report. 2Much of the world is watching and waiting for researchers to develop a vaccine for the disease COVID-19. But making enough of the vaccine to end the coronavirus health crisis will be the biggest medical manufacturing feat in history. 3That work has started. 4Researchers are currently setting up testing, involving 10,000 to 30,000 volunteers for every candidate vaccine. These scientists say they hope to get an answer on whether a vaccine works by as early as this October. 5However, health officials face a hard reality. The developer of an effective vaccine may not be able to make and deliver billions of doses all at once. 6Never done before 7The Reuters news agency spoke with over 10 vaccine developers and suppliers. 8The U.S. government has partnered with Johnson & Johnson on a $1 billion investment to speed up development and production of its vaccine, even before it is proven to work. Johnson & Johnson signed a deal with two other businesses, Emergent Biosolutions and Catalent, to manufacture large amounts in the United States. Catalent will also do some fill-and-finish work. 9"Never in history has so much vaccine been developed at the same time - so that capacity doesn't exist," said Paul Stoffels. He is the chief scientific officer at Johnson & Johnson. He said he believes that filling capacity is the main limiting factor. 10Seth Berkley is head of GAVI, the vaccines alliance. He told Reuters that experts estimate having "one to two billion doses of vaccine in the first year, spread out over the world population." He added that it is unlikely to go straight from having zero vaccines to having enough doses for everyone. 11GAVI is a project of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Its aim is to increase the availability of vaccines -- and immunization rates -- in developing countries. 12Colonel Nelson Michael is the director of the U.S. Army's Center for Infectious Disease Research. He is working on a government project aimed at delivering a COVID-19 vaccine to the world by January 2021. Michael says that companies usually have years to develop vaccines. "Now," he said, "they have weeks." 13The main problem: logistics 14But one of the biggest issues is an untested supply chain: How to get the vaccine to people around the world? Any problem in the supply chain could delay or even wreck the whole process. And there could be other problems. 15In other words, logistics - the term for organizing a complex operation such as this -- is a major concern. 16"This is the biggest logistical challenge the world has ever faced," said Toby Peters. He is an engineering and technology expert with Britain's Birmingham University. 17Peters told Reuters, "We could be looking at vaccinating 60% of the (world's) population." 18Companies and governments must improve machines to be able to fill that demand. Currently there are not enough machines that can fill and package the vaccines for delivery. 19Another problem: Vaccines need extreme cold 20Once ready for shipping, many vaccines need to be kept very cold. Some of the more promising vaccines are made from genetic material -- such as messenger RNA, or mRNA vaccines. 21"People who work with mRNA store it at minus 80 degrees centigrade," said Paul Offit, a co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine. He noted that such conditions are not available at most doctor's offices. He is a doctor and directs the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. 22Peters of Birmingham University has been gathering information from poorer countries in Africa and Asia. He said that breaks in the temperature-controlled supply chain are already happening. 23Companies such as Moderna are working to make candidate vaccines that remain stable at higher temperatures. Colleen Hussey is a spokesperson for Moderna. She told Reuters that for a short amount of time, these vaccines can be stored in refrigeration equipment found in doctors' offices or medical centers. 24She added, "We will know more in the next 2-3 months." 25And that's the Health & Lifestyle report. I'm Anna Matteo. 26The Reuters news agency reported this story. Anna Matteo adapted the report for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 27________________________________________________________________ 28Words in This Story 29feat - n. an act or achievement that shows courage, strength, or skill 30deliver - v. to transfer possession of (property) to another : put into the possession or exclusive control of another 31dose - n. the amount of a medicine, drug, or vitamin that is taken at one time 32capacity - n. ability to contain or deal with something : the ability to do something 33factor - n. something that helps produce or influence a result : one of the things that cause something to happen 34supply chain - n. supply chain is a system of organizations, people, activities, information, and resources involved in supplying a product or service to a consumer 35challenge - n. a difficult task or problem : something that is hard to do 36package- n. a box or large envelope that is sent or delivered usually through the mail or by another delivery service : - v. to put (something) in a package in order to sell it or send it somewhere 37stable - adj. in a good state or condition that is not easily changed or likely to change