Californian firm Dynavax has signed a US$22 million agreement with the US Department of Defence (DoD) to develop a plague vaccine. Dynavax will combine its CpG 1018 adjuvant with the DoD's rF1V vaccine in a Phase II trial that will begin in 2022.
A US military spokesperson emphasized the role of this planned vaccine in defending forces abroad rather than civilians at home, speaking of a “vision to deliver a full, layered medical countermeasure capability to enable a protected and unencumbered Joint Force to fight and win in any global CBRN [chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear] battlespace.”
Although no statement was issued regarding the source of such a challenge, it is true that both the USSR and US had active programs to weaponize plague during the cold war. The world’s governments may have good reason not to rule out the possibility of an alternative arms race...
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