Arthur Allen

Author's posts

To the Bat Cave: In Search of Covid’s Origins, Scientists Reignite Polarizing Debate on Wuhan ‘Lab Leak’

Leading virologists, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, are demanding a deeper probe into China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology as they try to identify the source of the deadly coronavirus.

You Don’t Have to Suffer to Benefit From Covid Vaccination — But Some Prefer It

In the times of smallpox, vaccination was accompanied by blood, sweat, fire and brimstone. Nowadays, a slight fever may make you feel as if you’ve earned the reward of immunity from covid. But you’re protected even without a nasty reaction to the vaccine.

The Case for Donating US Covid Vaccines Overseas

For now, there’s not enough vaccine for the U.S., but that could change within a few months. Vaccinating other nations will be key to stopping the pandemic – and keeping it away from our shores.

To Extract More Doses per Vial, Vaccinators Put Squeeze on FDA to Relax Vaccine Handling Advice

Although vaccine supply is ramping up, the supply gap puts pressure on vaccinating teams to extract every drop they can. Some are asking the FDA to waive guidance against extracting vaccine from two vials with the same needle. It’s worth a shot.

Eureka! Two Vaccines Work — But What About the Also-Rans in the Pharma Arms Race?

How two effective vaccines on the market make it so much harder to quickly test any competing vaccines.

Pediatricians Want Kids to Be Part of COVID Vaccine Trials

Some years from now, infants and school-aged children will probably be the mainstay of a universal vaccination program against COVID-19 in the United States. But first, doctors want to be sure that newfangled vaccines won’t harm them.

Government-Funded Scientists Laid the Groundwork for Billion-Dollar Vaccines

Drugmakers will walk away with massive profits, but much of the pioneering work on mRNA vaccines was done with government money.

Five Important Questions About Pfizer’s COVID-19 Vaccine

The drugmaker says its mRNA vaccine worked in 90% of patients in its trial, but some observers question how long immunity will last and who will benefit.

LA Hospital Seeks Vaccine Trial Participants Among Its Own High-Risk Patients

Harbor-UCLA Medical Center serves patients who are especially vulnerable to the coronavirus: They are essential workers, have chronic diseases and are members of underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. When the safety-net hospital kicks off enrollment for its COVID-19 vaccine trial Wednesday, it will look to those patients to participate.

Trust, Fear and Solidarity Will Determine the Success of a COVID Vaccine

Polio terrified Americans, and in 1955, when Jonas Salk’s vaccine became available, they snapped it up like candy. Sixty-five years later, COVID is the latest dread virus, but many undercurrents could inhibit its acceptance.