The first proven Covid-19 vaccine in the United States increased the immune formula of people precisely as scientists expected, the researchers reported Tuesday, as injections are about to begin key testing.
“Whatever the way to cut this, it’s smart news,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government’s top infectious disease specialist, told the Associated Press.
The experimental vaccine, developed through Fauci’s colleagues at the National Institutes of Health and Modern Inc., will begin its peak phase around July 27 : a test of another 30,000 people to determine whether vaccines are resilient enough to protect against coronavirus.
But on Tuesday, researchers eagerly reported the expected effects of the first forty-five volunteers who rolled up in March. In fact, the vaccine provided an expected immune boost.
These early volunteers developed so-called neutralizing antibodies in their bloodstream, molecules to block infection, to degrees comparable to those discovered in others who survived Covid-19, the study team reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.
“This is an essential building block that is needed to move forward with the trials that could actually determine whether the vaccine does protect against infection,” said Dr. Lisa Jackson of the Kaiser Permanente Washington Research Institute in Seattle, who led the study.
ALSO READ: Moderna Phase 1 results show Covid-19 vaccine safe, induces immune response
There are no guarantees, however, the government expects to have an effect towards the end of the year, a record speed for the advancement of a vaccine.
The vaccine requires two doses, one month apart.
There were no serious side effects. But more than one part of the test participants reported flu reactions to injections that are not unusual with other vaccines: fatigue, headaches, chills, fever and pain at the injection site. For 3 participants who won the dose, those reactions were more severe; This dose is not continued.
Some of those reactions are similar to coronavirus symptoms but they’re temporary, lasting about a day and occur right after vaccination, researchers noted.
“It’s worth paying for the coverage opposite Covid,” said Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, a vaccine expert who is not involved in the study.
He called for the initial effects a “good first step” and is confident that final evidence can provide answers about whether it is safe and effective until early next year.
“That would be wonderful. But everything is working on time,” Schaffner warned.
And Tuesday’s results only included younger adults. The first-step testing later was expanded to include dozens of older adults, the age group most at risk from Covid-19. Those results aren’t public yet but regulators are evaluating them, and Fauci said final testing will include older adults, as well as people with chronic health conditions that make them more vulnerable to the virus — and Black and Latino populations likewise affected.
Nearly two dozen possible Covid-19 vaccines are in various stages of testing around the world. Candidates from China and Britain’s Oxford University also are entering final testing stages.
The 30,000-person study will mark the world’s largest study of a potential Covid-19 vaccine so far. And the NIH-developed shot isn’t the only one set for such massive U.S. testing, crucial to spot rare side effects. The government plans similar large studies of the Oxford candidate and another by Johnson & Johnson; separately, Pfizer Inc. is planning its own huge study.
Already, other people can start volunteering for the studies.
People who “are a race for a winner.” I inspire you all,” said Fauci, who heads the NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
“We want several vaccines. We want vaccines for the world, just for our own country.”
Governments around the world are investing in stockpiles of millions of doses of other candidates, hoping to start inoculations quickly, if necessary.
(This article was published from a firm thread without converting the text. Only the name has been changed).
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