Explosive Interview About GeoVax’s Covid vaccine with the brilliant Dr. Don J. Diamond, Ph.D., professor at City of Hope and GeoVax vaccine’s lead developer.
The interview is conducted by Dr. Ben Koffman, one of the world’s leading experts in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, Co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of the Lymphocytic Leukemia Society – a nonprofit dedicated to the unmet needs of those diagnosed with CLL
Dr. Brian Koffman is extraordinary, in many ways. He’s extraordinary in the medical sense because, after twelve years of battling blood cancer, doctors can no longer find a single trace of malignancy in his entire body.
While he stated he encourages all those with chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL / SLL) to receive the CDC’s recommended SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations and boosters, he also states we must acknowledge that protection has been less predictable and robust in CLL due to an impaired immune response. See Dr. Lee Greenberger on Breakthrough COVID-19 Infections in Patients with Blood Cancers. This has led to higher rates of severe illness and death in our community from COVID-19.
Dr. Diamond on Building a Better COVID-19 Vaccine WITH GeoVax (GOVX) for the Immunocompromised
Don Diamond. Ph.D., has been working for decades at City of Hope, Duarte, CA, constructing a new vaccine platform (with Geovax) that will benefit the immunocompromised. It’s already been successfully used in post allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell (bone marrow) transplants to prevent a different viral infection, CMV. CMV a type of herpes virus that can be very dangerous for post-transplant patients when they are extremely vulnerable with little immunity.
Dr. Diamond and his team are leveraging what they have learned from their CMV vaccine by modifying their vaccine platform to protect against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
While there is no proof yet, there are reasons to be optimistic that this vaccine will work well in the immunocompromised as it seems to be particularly effective in building immunity of not just the B cells that form antibodies but also the T cells that are so critical in durable “cellular” protection.
The safety study in healthy patients has been completed and was reassuring.
The research will soon be expanding to include those with B cell blood cancers, including chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL / SLL). It is not a placebo-controlled trial, so everyone gets the experimental vaccine, either once or twice. Prior vaccinations or Evusheld should not be a reason to be excluded.
We know too well that responses with the approved COVID-19 vaccines in those with CLL / SLL often have been disappointing.
Research such as this to build a better, more protective vaccine is critical. We will post a link to the trial when it opens.
INTERVIEW WITH DOCTOR BRIAN KOFFMAN ON HIDDEN FORCES
#GOVX
