Question

We are dealing with a strange time during this pandemic of COVID19. How has the limited research provided help to fight this panademic. Give one example and please provide a reference. Do you think this research in unbiased and can be applied to the population you live in, in your state? Why?

Answer 1

The US Army's Virus Research Lab is developing vaccine against the COVID-19.

Reference for better understanding: https://www.wired.com/story/the-us-armys-virus-research-lab-gears-up-to-fight-covid-19/

Pre-clinical trials have just begun for a new coronavirus vaccine at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, about 40 miles away in Silver Spring, Maryland. It targets a tiny region of the spike protein that allows the coronavirus to invade the host’s lung cells, and uses a unique adjuvant, or booster, to elicit a stronger immune response from the body.

“Everybody is looking at the spike protein,” says Kayvon Modjarrad, director of WRAIR’s emerging infectious disease branch. “The difference is how they are delivering that vaccine.”

They are developing an animal model for any vaccine or treatment. Because this is the first time humans have encountered this particular coronavirus, there’s no established way to test vaccines to make sure that the progress of the disease (and the possible cure) in an animal mirrors how it will progress in humans. “Not all animals get sick from coronavirus,” says Pitt. “You have to find the animal species that has a disease that looks similar to humans. If you give the disease to an animal and it just sheds the virus and doesn’t get sick, it won’t help you.”

As of now the research is not unbiased as they hand picking the species to do tests on, so currently applying it on the population of the town I live in wouldn't be a good decision. First the vaccine needs to be tested on random humans, rather than the hand picked animals.