A Fentanyl Vaccine Is About to Get Its First Major Test
9 points by quapster
by nelox
0 subcomment
The article is broadly accurate but presents the vaccine as being further along than it is. Calling the upcoming Phase 1/2 trial its “first major test” suggests something close to real efficacy data, when in reality it is only a small safety and dosing study. Previous anti-drug vaccines repeatedly failed because, as the literature puts it, only a “subset of participants” generated sufficiently high antibody levels; the article acknowledges this only indirectly, despite it being one of the central obstacles. It cites that the vaccine in animals “blocked 92–98% of fentanyl from entering the brain” and “prevented behavioural effects,” but treats this as if it will translate cleanly to humans, even though real-world drug use involves polydrug combinations, variable street potency, and fentanyl analogues that a single vaccine may not neutralise. The warning that a high enough dose could “skirt by” the antibodies is presented as a side note, despite being a major limitation. The speculation that 20 weeks of protection in rats “could translate to a year” in humans is exactly that, speculation. The article also touches only lightly on social and ethical issues such as stigma, vaccine acceptance, and the worry that people might be pressured or coerced into receiving it. In short, it is a reasonable lay summary but gives a somewhat optimistic impression and omits much of the uncertainty highlighted in the scientific work.
Hacker News