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The latest setback in the race for a coronavirus vaccine

Lydia Ramsey Pflanzer   

The latest setback in the race for a coronavirus vaccine
LifeScience3 min read

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On Monday evening, Johnson & Johnson said it halted all dosing associated with its coronavirus vaccine trials after an "unexplained illness" in a participant, as first reported by Stat News. It's another setback to the vaccine race after AstraZeneca's trial also hit a snag in September.

We're officially three weeks away from the presidential election. Between that and arguments slated for next month on the Affordable Care Act, all eyes are on the Trump administration to have a plan should the law be struck down.

Kimberly Leonard spoke to one of Trump's top advisors about what might happen, since the administration hasn't laid out a plan to replace the law.

And across the pond, England is getting set to start closing parts of the country down as case counts rise.

Elsewhere in healthcare news: Pfizer's expanding its vaccine trial to include kids as young as 12, what antiabortion groups think of Trump taking an experimental drug tested on cells derived from an aborted fetus, and antibody drug trials have seen an uptick in interest.

Pfizer will start testing its coronavirus vaccine on children as young as 12, a crucial step to bringing the shot to more people

Read the full story from Andrew Dunn here>>

Antiabortion groups say they stand behind Trump's use of a drug tested on cells derived from an aborted fetus because the president 'was not involved with that abortion'

  • An antibody cocktail President Trump received for his COVID-19 treatment was tested using stem cells derived from a fetus that was aborted in 1972 in the Netherlands.
  • Antiabortion organizations have spoken out against the use of these stem cells, which have been lab-engineered and duplicated, to test vaccines. Trump has also restricted use of these stem cells in research.
  • Three leaders of antiabortion organizations told Insider that though the testing wasn't ethical, they stood behind Trump's decision.
  • One said Trump has been "sensational on the life issues."

Read the full story from Julia Naftulin here>>

More patients want to join antibody drug trials after Trump's coronavirus treatment — though we don't know yet if it actually helps COVID-19

Read the full story from Sinéad Baker here>>

More stories we're reading:

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- Lydia

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