Changer | In the Baltimore Lab producing Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines – CBS Baltimore

Changer | In the Baltimore Lab producing Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines – CBS Baltimore

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BALTIMORE (WJZ) – In a unique facility in southeast Baltimore, employees of Emergent BioSolutions were working hard in the large bioreactor area where coronavirus vaccines – including the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine – will be produced for use in the United States.

“We actually cultivate the cell cultures, infect them with the viral vectors, and ultimately purify the viral vectors, which elicit an immune response in humans,” said Sean Kirk, vice president of Emergent BioSolutions, which manufactures.

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The company has given WJZ rare access to its secure campus in Bayview. Three hundred employees work there with dozens more supporting the facility remotely.

“I want the people of Baltimore to be proud that Emergent is here, and to be proud of the fact that many residents work in this facility,” Kirk said. “Our people work long hours every day to defeat this pandemic, and the thing that keeps them motivated is the fact that we are going to produce hundreds of millions of doses in the coming year.”

Emergent has a $ 480 million contract with Johnson & Johnson and another $ 174 million contract with AstraZeneca.

The federal government must still approve the vaccines for use across the country.

At the end of January, Johnson & Johnson announced the results of its Phase Three trial, saying it intends to seek permission for emergency use from the Food and Drug Administration.

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These results showed 85 days after vaccination 85% protection against severe coronavirus disease in adults of all ages and racial groups. The overall effectiveness rate for the prevention of moderate to severe diseases was 72% in the US and 66% in all countries studied. The vaccine was 57% effective in preventing moderate to severe diseases in South Africa, where a more contagious strain spread rapidly through the population.

Maryland is the second state where the South African tribe is traced. There are at least three cases in Maryland: two in Montgomery County and one in the Baltimore area. Health officials said the positive patient in the Baltimore area did not become infected.

The emergence of new strains means that vaccines are urgently needed.

People in Maryland and across the country are frustrated by the shortage of vaccines.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine has some benefits. It only needs a single shot – and no special freezers.

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“Gambling on a single dose was definitely worth it,” said Dr. Mathai Mammen, global head of research for J & J’s Janssen Pharmaceutical unit, told the Associated Press.

“You can get a chance from the J&J and 10, 14 days later you are already starting to get a lot of protection,” said dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said. Adviser to President Joe Biden.

All COVID-19 vaccines train the body to recognize the new coronavirus, usually by noticing the muscular protein it covers. But they are made in different ways.

The Johnson & Johnson shot uses a cold virus like a Trojan horse to carry the spike gene in the body, where cells make harmless copies of the protein to replenish the immune system in case the actual virus would prevent.

Johnson & Johnson said the vaccine works consistently in a wide range of people: a third of participants were over 60 and more than 40% had other diseases that put them at risk of severe COVID-19, including obesity. diabetes and HIV. The company maintains that the vaccine is safe, with reactions similar to other COVID-19 shots, such as fever that occurs when the immune system is restored.

Maryland Vaccination Guide

Dr. David Marcozzi of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, a government adviser to Larry Hogan, called the Johnson & Johnson vaccine a ‘game changer’.

Emergent Biosolutions told WJZ it was ready for the federal government to alleviate the public’s emergency use of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. An Advisory Committee of the Food and Drug Administration will meet on February 26 to discuss the vaccine candidate.

It usually takes a few weeks for the FDA to review the results of clinical trials.

Once approval comes, “Nothing changes,” he told Hellgren. They are already producing the vaccine.

“We are wide open in manufacturing,” he said. “We have an important opportunity to save tens of thousands – hundreds of thousands – of lives in the coming months.”

Back at Emergent’s Bayview facility, the sterile bags that feed the tanks can be easily swapped, giving you the flexibility to take booster shots or whatever is needed.

In another emerging facility, across the street from M&T Bank Stadium, the company has signed an agreement for the production of lenzilumab, a possible treatment for COVID-19.

“There’s a tremendous amount of work involved in fighting this battle behind the scenes in facilities like ours and other facilities in the industry to ensure that we collectively defeat this pandemic,” Kirk said.

Johnson and Johnson and AstraZeneca representatives are on site at Bayview and Kirk said the highest safety standards are being met.

“The accelerated timelines did not in any way jeopardize the safety we built into these products from the beginning,” Kirk said.

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For the latest information on coronavirus, go to the Maryland Department of Health or call 211. You can get all the coverage of WJZ on coronavirus in Maryland here.

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