Coronavirus Vaccine Invented – Cure in 3 Hrs After Injection: Fact Check

Story:

Good News for Everyone: Coronavirus Vaccine Invented. Can be cured in 3hrs after injection

Fact Check:

A ‘good news’ message doing rounds on WhatsApp, YouTube and other social media platforms claims to show how Coronavirus Vaccine was Invented. The screengrab of a video showing a news report on the discovery carries a message claiming the vaccine can cure the deadly viral disease in 3 hours after injection. The claims as such are mixture of hoax and facts explained here.

Coronavirus Vaccine Invented?

The video accompanying the message is in fact a CBS 8 San Diego News report from 11th February 2020. It in fact reported about a San Diego lab discovering COVID-19/Coronavirus vaccine in 3 hours. However, it is not about a vaccine already invented and approved to cure Coronavirus in humans in just 3 hours after injection.

The news report in fact talks about Inovio Pharmaceuticals in Sorrento Valley of San Diego (California) working on the crucial task of creating COVID-19 vaccine. It says they created a vaccine earlier for Zika Virus, Ebola and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, MERS.

On 19th January 2020, Chinese scientists released the isolated DNA sequence of the new strain of Coronavirus, COVID-19. Consequently, Inovio accessed the genetic sequence of the virus and created a vaccine for the deadly Coronavirus within 3 hours. The scientists explain briefly about the creation of DNA medicine, adding – it will then be used for pre-clinical studies. They tried the vaccine on Mice and Guinea Pigs and will test on a group of human patients thereafter.

The news reporter says if all goes well as planned, the vaccine may be available for mass public use by as early as this summer. After their discovery, Inovio Pharmaceuticals CEO Dr. J Joseph Kim joined Yahoo Finance’s On the Move in mid-February 2020 to discuss about it.

Current Status

As of 12th March 2020 reports, the DNA vaccine for COVID-19, INO-4800 is in preclinical studies. There are also plans to advance into Phase 1 clinical trials in the U.S. in April. We will know the success and efficiency of the invented Coronavirus vaccine for humans only then.

For your information, the Inovio Pharmaceuticals Company is under millions of dollar grants from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). Inovio also received $5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to accelerate the testing and scale up of proprietary smart device, CELLECTRA® 3PSP for the intradermal delivery of INO-4800.

Hoax or Fact:

Mixture of Hoax and Facts.