to set the record straight. Friday, January 27, 2023 - 08:00pm https://www.pfizer.com/news/announcements/pfizer-responds-research-claims#.Y9WTkZsflV4.mailto New York, N.Y., January 27, 2023 – Allegations have recently been made related to gain of function and directed evolution research at Pfizer and the company would like to set the record straight. They do not reference the ‘allegations’ they refer to. Mutate a virus Pre-emptively develop a vaccine for the new variant Such a rumour may contain swearing and casual blasphemy This could be being considered for the future Could have come up at a meeting One possible method could be ongoing deliberate reinfection of monkeys Serial infections in the monkeys Directed evolution Analyse the viruses as the mutate Select the viruses that have desired properties, e.g. more immune escape, more infectivity, increases pathogenicity. Reinfect more monkey with this now ‘improved’ virus It may depend on how experiments work out (intimating they are currently going on) Specific genetic manipulation to facilitate selective structural mutations to make a virus more potent may not have been admitted to (This could produce an unpredictable virus) There may have been talk about a revolving door with government officials This could be good for the industry, but bad for everyone else in America Back to Pfizer press release In the ongoing development of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, Pfizer has not conducted gain of function or directed evolution research. Working with collaborators, we have conducted research where the original SARS-CoV-2 virus has been used to express the spike protein from new variants of concern. This work is undertaken once a new variant of concern has been identified by public health authorities. This research provides a way for us to rapidly assess the ability of an existing vaccine to induce antibodies that neutralize a newly identified variant of concern. In a limited number of cases when a full virus does not contain any known gain of function mutations, such virus may be engineered to enable the assessment of antiviral activity in cells. Fact-based information rooted in sound science is vitally important to overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic and Pfizer remains committed to transparency and helping alleviate the devastating burden of this disease. Shakespeare Act III, Scene II Hamlet, Spoken by Queen Gertrude "The lady doth protest too much, methinks"

• published: 29 Jan 2023
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