Did COVID-19 vaccines skip animal trials? Fact checking the fact checkers.

Animal trials were not skipped for COVID-19 vaccines. • 0:15

Need for full information beyond quick answers. • 0:31

Regulators determine adequacy of trials. • 1:04

Importance of context in evaluating trial adequacy. • 1:12

Animal deaths did not lead to skipping trials. • 1:59

Discussion on vaccine trials and animal deaths in Texas Senate hearing. • 2:28

Fact checkers found no evidence of skipping trials due to animal deaths. • 2:51

Pfizer announced pre-clinical studies of mRNA vaccine candidate in September 2020. • 3:13

Reference to a pre-print paper on spike mRNA vaccine’s immunogenicity in non-human primates. • 3:45

The pre-print paper is still awaiting peer review, causing uncertainty. • 4:21

A study by Nimrat Khidra in June 2021 detailed the journey from pre-clinical to clinical trials for the Pfizer vaccine. • 4:40

Sequential testing of four vaccine candidates in animal species like macaques and mice. • 5:06

Importance of using closely related species like macaques for vaccine research due to similar immune responses. • 5:50

Discussion on the use of animals in vaccine research within a one-year timeframe. • 6:01

Regulators allowed pre-clinical studies to run parallel to clinical studies to save time. • 6:08

Ongoing animal studies in parallel can help anticipate future issues like the need for boosters. • 6:39

Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials with healthy participants started in April 2020 in Germany. • 7:23

Animal trials were conducted on rhesus macaques with promising immune responses to the vaccine. • 8:09

Challenge studies on macaques post-vaccination showed good immune response against new viral exposure. • 9:03

Study split macaques for intranasal and intratracheal vaccine routes. • 9:29

Autopsies conducted on macaques after challenge study at day 44. • 9:53

Limited data on immune responses post-second vaccine dose at peak antibody levels. • 10:20

Post-challenge necroscopy within two weeks provided some safety insights. • 11:27

Call for more animal model studies and parallel research by regulators. • 12:02

Importance of autopsy data in understanding vaccine effects on patients. • 12:17

Critical review of limited autopsies on COVID-19 vaccinated patients. • 12:26

Importance of parallel animal studies to understand vaccine impact on new variants like omicron. • 12:48

Questioning the adequacy of animal trials for COVID-19 vaccines in terms of safety and long-term impact on humans. • 13:45

Lack of evidence for comprehensive parallel animal studies to assess vaccine outcomes with new variants. • 13:52

Emphasis on presenting the whole truth in fact-checking to maintain trust in science. • 14:15

Encouragement to explore independent information on COVID-19 through provided resources. • 14:29