I don't want to sound overly pessimistic, but the longer we in the life sciences vertical wait to bring wide-spread vaccination programs to sub-Saharan Africa, the greater the odds that this ends up a much much wider pandemic. We are over 1,400 already in Africa -- with over 1,000 in DRC alone.
We need to fully fund WHO for the full three million doses, and maybe even urge Bavarian Nordic to agree with (for example) Merck, to run an entire MSD vaccine facility in Europe (or North Carolina), on a contract basis, to make vastly more doses. . . immediately. [Merck would do it for cost, plus say a dime per dose.] We need supplies, and suppliers -- far beyond Bavarian's existing capacity. This is the work-around.
Here is this morning's latest, from ABC:
. . .Congo reported more than 1,000 new mpox cases in the last week up to Tuesday as African health authorities asked for desperately needed vaccines to help fight its “growing” threat on the continent. The World Health Organization has declared the outbreaks in Africa a global emergency.
Mpox belongs to the same family of viruses as smallpox but causes milder symptoms like fever, chills and body aches, and mostly spreads through close skin-to-skin contact, including sexual intercourse. People with more serious cases can develop lesions on the face, hands, chest and genitals. . . .
Africa CDC's Kaseya said that his organization had received a pledge of 215,000 mpox vaccines from the European Union and the vaccine maker, Bavarian Nordic, which were due to arrive in the next few days. The United States' aid agency said it had donated 50,000 other doses of the same vaccine to Congo. Japan has also donated some doses to Congo. . . .
Now you know -- and someone I trust pointed out that it is just now dawning on Tangerine (he was very low energy yesterday, in the historical home of the neo-nazi movement in Michigan!). . . that he is running to fill one of these. . . "Black jobs". And he is manifestly unqualified. . . for the job.
So, I'll offer my 2024 math / prediction, below -- Kamala may very well take GA -- but even if she doesn't, and even if Trump gets NC. . . he STILL loses. Cheers.
नमस्ते
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on a different note: https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/genentech-shut-down-cancer-immunology-department-amid-broader-downsizing-efforts. ouch.
Well, this may well seem as though I am oversimplifying, but Genentech/Roche really may be conceding that other than Tecentriq -- they don't have much going on in the pipe to meet the wildly profitable successes of Keytruda (Merck) and Optivo (BMS) -- together owning the space.
I truly feel for all the families that will be affected by the closure, and to be sure, some will self-nom for jobs in the newly streamlined single organization, but there will certainly be a fair amount of dislocation.
That is extremely unfortunate.
And in the same breath I can say that it is my experience that Genentech has and had hundreds of truly first rate scientists. They will find work, at all the other multinationals and universities that dot this land.
Thanks for showing me it -- I hadn't seen it. Not sure if I'll make a whole new post on it though.
Onward, smiling, now -- thinking of Michelle's on-point inverted lapel -- nearly Samurai look -- with copious braids! -- and Barack's James Bond suit, that made any Daniel Craig suit (in the films) look like a bumpkin hoppin' a railcar, by comparison!
Namaste. . . .
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