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The George Church selfie of him taking a DIY coronavirus vaccine. This picture is a classic
This is the thread to go with it.
This is the thread to go with it.
Today @techreview reported on an independent effort to gain immunity to Covid-19 organized by 'citizen scientists' @PrestonWEstep , @HoekstraTweets and others.
About 20 people have taken this nasal vaccine they say.
Here is the story. https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/07/29/1005720/george-church-diy-coronavirus-vaccine/
About 20 people have taken this nasal vaccine they say.
Here is the story. https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/07/29/1005720/george-church-diy-coronavirus-vaccine/
It begins in March when Preston Estep blasts an email to associates, asking if anyone knows of a DIY plan to create a vaccine against covid-19.
The fearsome pandemic is gaining speed in the US and corporate vaccine efforts are at an early stage.
Here is the email:
The fearsome pandemic is gaining speed in the US and corporate vaccine efforts are at an early stage.
Here is the email:
Who is Pete Estep? He's an early graduate student and protege of @geochurch and was described to me as being an "insitutional biohacker." That is, he operates at the edge of academia (specifically Harvard) carrying out projects connected to aging, genomes, mental health
The group that created this vaccine (more on that soon) were mostly involved with @PGorg , the Personal Genome Project, a 2005 Harvard spin-off that let people get their genomes sequenced and even publish them on the web.
Biohackers are a fave subject of Netflix documentaries. Concrete accomplishments? Close to nil.
Could Covid-19 be different? From Estep's email:
"I have been skeptical about the routine importance of he biohacker community, but this might be their best opportunity to date..."
Could Covid-19 be different? From Estep's email:
"I have been skeptical about the routine importance of he biohacker community, but this might be their best opportunity to date..."
Estep and his posse-- consisting of part time scientists, biotech people, etc --- proceeded to zero in on what type of vaccine they could make...and that other people might make, too.
They settled on a nasal peptide vaccine.
They settled on a nasal peptide vaccine.
If you are interested there is a white paper at http://Radvac.org that explains the DIY peptide vaccine in more detail that I can go into.
Seems to be easy to make, but much less certain it has any potency. It could be a nothing. Not yet proven
Seems to be easy to make, but much less certain it has any potency. It could be a nothing. Not yet proven
A question will arise if the group is promoting the vaccine, including by announcing it via @techreview article.
I can say they put up a public website and twitter account @RADVACproject on July 4th. I didn't find out about it until last week when i got a tip.
I can say they put up a public website and twitter account @RADVACproject on July 4th. I didn't find out about it until last week when i got a tip.
The Radvac group doesnt have clearance from FDA to test this vaccine, or use it.
They claim because participants mix ingredients themselves, and self-administer, it's beyond regulatory reach.
I doubt that, but whether they get in trouble may hinge on how they talk about it.
They claim because participants mix ingredients themselves, and self-administer, it's beyond regulatory reach.
I doubt that, but whether they get in trouble may hinge on how they talk about it.
If you are interested in the legalities of FDA regulation as it may apply to this vaccine, jump into this other thread featuring @pzettler and @jsherkow
https://publish.twitter.com/?query=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fpzettler%2Fstatus%2F1288475764573249540&widget=Tweet
https://publish.twitter.com/?query=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fpzettler%2Fstatus%2F1288475764573249540&widget=Tweet
The main ingredient are peptides (short bits of protein) derived from the sequence of the coronavirus. RADVAC now is on their sixth version and it contains about 10 peptides.
These peptides likely ordered from some kind of research supply house. Not GMP grade.
These peptides likely ordered from some kind of research supply house. Not GMP grade.
(MORE TO COME)
The reaction to this DIY effort is very mixed. A reasonable critique is that, given so many big company vaccines racing forward, and more than $5 billion in funding from Operation Warp Speed, is... why bother. https://twitter.com/lmorello_dc/status/1288499314612895745
The reason to take the DIY vaccine--according to those who did--is the *probability* (albeit unknown) that it confers some immunity.
Like a lot of people who doom scroll the primary medical literature, they are scared of this virus and do not want to get it.
Per Church:
Like a lot of people who doom scroll the primary medical literature, they are scared of this virus and do not want to get it.
Per Church:
What are reasons to be scared. For example, reports that the virus affects the heart tissue, even in people with mild symptoms. Some consequences of this virus could be permanent. https://www.statnews.com/2020/07/27/covid19-concerns-about-lasting-heart-damage/
The tale of the DIY vaccine does underscore that there is official biotech, but also many people who can create and use things outside the system. I thought this sequence of photos of Don Wang (who trained at Harvard) sniffing the vaccine captured that.
Mainstream vaccinologists sometimes also give themselves untested vaccines. It's a fast way to get some data, without the red tape of asking permission to experiment on animals or other people. It's somewhat common.
While reporting the DIY vaccine story, we learned of a recent case of vaccine self-experimentation involving Hans-Georg Rammensee, of the University of Tubingen in Germany.
Rammensee is well known and a co-founder of CureVac a German company which is also in the covid-19 race (Trump tried to buy it, along with Greenland, if you recall).
Here's the paper where he played the part of guneia pig. https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-27316/v1
Here's the paper where he played the part of guneia pig. https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-27316/v1
And here is the rationale given for self injection by an established immunologist. I find the role of "credentialism" pretty interesting. Basically, argument is 'I know what I am doing. '
What's never acknowledged by self-experimenters is their conflict of interest. Can they rationally make informed decisions for themselves when they are in a powerful competition to deliver results?
The German team sees only "individual subjects" as acceptable for self-experiments, i.e. "n of 1"
The DIY vaccine project in Boston is quite different in that regard, because it now involves something like 70 people, at least 20 of whom have taken it. Group self experiment?
The DIY vaccine project in Boston is quite different in that regard, because it now involves something like 70 people, at least 20 of whom have taken it. Group self experiment?
Someone just posted what appears to the solicitation, or outreach, by DIY covid-19 vaccine organization Radvac.
Sent to more than 100 labs worldwide (presumably DIY labs, collectives) and envisions 'global implementation',
screenshot via @biohackinfo
Sent to more than 100 labs worldwide (presumably DIY labs, collectives) and envisions 'global implementation',
screenshot via @biohackinfo
