Pharmacist biologist, former INSERM researcher, member of the Independent Scientific Council (ISC) Hélène Banoun explains here why the vaccines expected for the fall are likely to be as ineffective as those of today. Interview.
The seventh wave of Covid-19 is over, but already we’re hearing about a fifth vaccination campaign in the fall, with new vaccines. What can we expect?
Everyone now recognizes the failure of vaccines against Covid and its new variants, Omicron, BA.4 and BA.5. So the manufacturers had to come up with something else. In the fall, new vaccines were announced.
On the one hand, there is an adaptation of the current vaccines, i.e. Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines, which would be adapted to the new variants, it is not yet known which ones, but the Food And Drug Administration (FDA) has given its approval; the European Medicines Agency (EMA) is studying the dossier with a view to approval in September (but Emer Cooke, the president, is said to have doubts about the interest of the adaptation).
And there are, on the other hand, new vaccines that have not yet been marketed. We are waiting for the famous Sanofi vaccine, which is in experimentation and has still not been authorized; it is a “classic” vaccine, i.e. a recombinant vaccine, which has part of the virus, i.e. the famous Spike protein, with a known adjuvant (AS03, which has been implicated in the adverse effects of the Pandemrix vaccine against H1N1).
And there is the Spanish vaccine Hipra which was pre-ordered by the European Commission before the European Medicines Agency (EMA) gave its approval. It is a new recombinant vaccine that has part of the Spike protein to induce antibodies. And it has a new adjuvant, but we are not told which one specifically: a water-oil emulsion.
In the fall, we should have four new vaccines, two of which are adaptations…
Yes, at least. Because there is also talk that Moderna, in addition to adapting its Covid vaccine, is making combined flu-Covid vaccines. This would be a messenger RNA flu vaccine, which is totally new.
In October 2019, there was a meeting of a group of international experts, including Dr. Faucy, who clearly said, we need a “disruptive” crisis that will allow us to avoid 10 years of testing needed to launch a flu/messenger RNA vaccine. Everything was announced in advance. So they’re going to launch this untested RNA/flu vaccine, which is to anticipate the appearance of new variants. But it’s impossible to anticipate new variants.
Is this future flu vaccine already doomed to failure?
It is possible that, by chance, it will have some effectiveness. But, in any case, it is a messenger RNA vaccine and we have seen the problems with these experimental nanoparticle vaccines. Even if it targets, by chance, the new fall variants, it will have the disadvantages of nanoparticles in the body (bone marrow, ovaries, etc.) It is very dangerous.
Should we be concerned about these new vaccines?
When we look at what has happened since the introduction of Covid vaccines, we have reason to be concerned. On the Johns Hopkins University and JHU website, we see that the most vaccinated countries are those where there are the most Covids.
We all personally know people who have been vaccinated, one dose, two doses, three doses and even four doses, who have Covids. Example, President Biden. While healthy, unvaccinated people do not get severe Covid. In short, the vaccine does not protect. The authorities tell us that it would protect against severe forms. To know this, you have to look at randomized clinical trials. However, for Pfizer as for Moderna, after six months, there are more deaths in the vaccinated group than in the non-vaccinated group. The interest is negative.
Should vaccination be stopped?
In May 2020, I had written ”there will be no Covid vaccine.” We knew it wouldn’t work. I was wrong, they dared to make vaccines. And they don’t work. Worse: vaccines make things worse (I had also written that!). We knew it. The virus evolves towards less serious forms. And we have effective drugs that treat it.
Why continue vaccination?