Changer ‘| In the Baltimore Lab that produces Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccines – CBS Baltimore

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

“We actually grow the cell cultures, infect them with the viral vectors, and eventually purify the viral vectors, which triggers an immune response in humans,” said Sean Kirk, vice president of Emergent BioSolutions and responsible for manufacturing.

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The company granted WJZ rare access to its secure Bayview campus. Three hundred employees work there and dozens of others support the facility remotely.

“I want the people of Baltimore to be proud that Emergent is here, to be proud of the fact that many residents work in this facility,” said Kirk. “Every day our people are working long hours to beat this pandemic, and what keeps them motivated is the fact that we will be producing 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 has yet to approve the vaccines for use across the country.

In late January, Johnson & Johnson released the results of its phase three trial and said it plans to seek emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration.

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Those results showed 85% protection against severe coronavirus disease in adults of all ages and racial groups 28 days after vaccination. The overall effectiveness rate for the prevention of moderate to severe disease was 72% in the US and 66% in all countries studied. The vaccine was 57% effective in preventing moderate to severe disease in South Africa, where a more contagious strain has spread rapidly through the population.

Maryland is the second state where the South African tribe has been found. There are at least three cases in Maryland: two in Montgomery County and one in the Baltimore area. The positive patient in the Baltimore case did not become infected from travel, health officials said.

Vaccines are urgently needed due to the emergence of new strains.

People in Maryland and across the country are frustrated with vaccine shortages.

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

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“Single dose gambling was well worth it,” said Dr. Mathai Mammen, head of research worldwide for J & J’s Janssen Pharmaceutical division, at The Associated Press.

“You can take a shot of the J&J and 10, 14 days later you already start to get a significant amount of protection,” says Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a top adviser to President Joe Biden.

All COVID-19 vaccines train the body to recognize the new coronavirus, usually by spotting the spikey protein that envelops it. But they are made in very different ways.

The Johnson & Johnson shot uses a cold virus like a Trojan horse to deliver the spike gene into the body, where cells make harmless copies of the protein to boost the immune system in case the real virus comes along.

Johnson & Johnson said the vaccine works consistently in a wide variety of people: One-third of the participants were over 60 and more than 40% had other illnesses that put them at risk for severe COVID-19, including obesity, diabetes, and HIV . The company insists the vaccine is safe, with responses similar to other COVID-19 injections, such as a fever that occurs when the immune system is activated.

Maryland Vaccination Guide

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

Emergent Biosolutions told WJZ it is ready for the federal government to green up emergency public use of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. An advisory committee from the Food and Drug Administration will meet on Feb. 26 to discuss the vaccination candidate.

It usually takes several weeks for the FDA to review the results of clinical studies.

Once the approval comes, nothing will change, he told Hellgren. They are already producing the vaccine.

“We are wide open in production,” he said. “We have a significant opportunity to save potentially tens of thousands – hundreds of thousands – of lives in the coming months.”

Back at Emergent’s Bayview facility, the sterile pouches on the inside of the tanks can be easily exchanged, giving the flexibility to take booster shots or whatever.

In another Emergent facility across the street from M&T Bank Stadium, the company has signed a deal to produce lenzilumab, a potential treatment for COVID-19.

“There is a tremendous amount of work in the fight of this fight behind the scenes in facilities like ours and other facilities in the industry to ensure that we collectively beat this pandemic,” said Kirk.

Representatives from Johnson and Johnson and AstraZeneca are on site at Bayview, and Kirk said the highest safety standards are adhered to.

“The accelerated timelines have in no way compromised the security that we have built into these products from the start,” said Kirk.

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For the latest information on coronavirus, visit the Maryland Health Department website or call 211. You can find all coverage of WJZ at coronavirus in Maryland here.

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