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Game over
UQ abandons trials on vaccine candidate .
The University of Queensland
announced late last year that it will not progress its COVID-19 vaccine candidate to the next stage of clinical trials due to an unexpected finding in phase 1 .
Data revealed that participants returned false positive HIV test results .
UQ reassured that there was no possibility the vaccine causes infection and routine follow up tests confirmed there was no HIV virus present .
The university said that while the phase 1 trial of its joint venture with CSL yielded a robust response towards the virus , the decision to halt the progression of the study was made following consultation with the Australian government .
Researchers said significant changes would need to be made to well-established HIV testing procedures in the healthcare setting to accommodate rollout of the vaccine .
Professor Paul Young , co-lead on the project , said that although it was possible to re-engineer the vaccine , the team did not have the time needed .
“ Doing so would set back development by another 12 or so months , and while this is a tough decision to take , the urgent need for a vaccine has to be everyone ’ s priority .
“ I said at the start of vaccine development that there were no guarantees , but what is really encouraging is that the core technology approach we used has passed the major clinical test . It is a safe and welltolerated vaccine , producing the strong virus-neutralising effect that we were hoping to see .
“ So we will continue to push forward ,” Young said , adding that with further work , the team was confident the Molecular Clamp technology used in the project will be a robust platform for future vaccine development in Australia .
Dr Andrew Nash , chief scientific officer for CSL , said this outcome highlights the risk of failure associated with early vaccine development , and the rigorous assessment involved in making decisions as to what discoveries advance .
Nash added that manufacture of around 30 million doses of the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca vaccine candidate was underway .
CSL agreed at the request of the government to manufacture an additional 20 million doses .
Phase 1 of the UQ trial will continue , where further analysis of the data will show how long the antibodies persist . The researchers plan to submit the full data for peer review publication .
Their vice chancellor , Professor Deborah Terry , said while the outcome was disappointing , she was immensely proud of the UQ team who shouldered a heavy burden of responsibility while the world watched on . ■
VET injection
Falling numbers justify $ 4 billion intervention : ITECA
The peak body representing independent providers in the
higher education , vocational education , training and skills sector , the Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia ( ITECA ), has welcomed the government ’ s $ 4 billion injection amid a massive decline in commencements in the June 2020 quarter .
Fresh data presented from the National Centre for Vocational Education and Research ( NCVER ) has shown a 25 per cent decrease in apprentice and trainee commencements from the June quarter of 2019 to the June quarter of 2020 , equating to 21,115 fewer students .
Other troubling information contained in the report shows a high number of both non-completions and cancellations and withdrawals . For example , 83,965 fewer students ( 5.7 per cent ) completed their courses in the June quarter of 2020 compared with the June quarter of 2019 . Cancellations and withdrawals from traineeship and apprenticeship courses also dropped 9.4 per cent over the year , resulting in 77,835 fewer qualified individuals .
“ During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic , it was clear that the jobs of apprentices and trainees would be at risk . The data released today confirms the worst fears of the independent vocational education and training sector ,” ITECA chief executive Troy Williams said .
The NCVER data also shows the COVID-19 pandemic affected not only apprentice and trainee commencements , but the ability and / or appetite for those already enrolled to complete their courses . To illustrate , in comparing the June quarter of 2020 with the June quarter of 2019 , apprentice and trainee completions plummeted by 14,820 or 24.4 per cent .
“ What this shows is that the Australian Government ’ s investment of around $ 4 billion to support the wages of apprentices and trainees was a timely intervention . Without that assistance the outcome would be far worse – the Australian Government ’ s actions have supported the jobs of many thousands of apprentices and trainees that otherwise would not be in vocational training ,” Williams said .
ITECA is of the firm belief that the “ initiative shown by the Australian Government will support a skills-based recovery ” in an increasingly difficult economic and global trade environment . ■
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