Coronavirus is not likely to stop being a life-defining crisis until there’s a safe, effective vaccine. So this is very good—although very preliminary—news: Early results of the first vaccine in human tests look promising.
The vaccine being developed by Moderna has results from just eight people, but every one of those people made antibodies as if they had had COVID-19. Their antibodies were tested in a lab and stopped the virus from replicating.
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The initial test was carried out at three doses of the vaccine, with the highest dose being the only one to lead to side effects beyond redness and soreness at the injection site. And that highest dose isn’t going to be tested going forward, because lower doses were effective. That’s especially good news because “The lower the dose, the more vaccine we’ll be able to make,” said Moderna’s Dr. Tal Zaks.
The Food and Drug Administration fast-tracked testing of Moderna’s vaccine. The next phase of testing will include 600 people, and beginning in July a third phase will test the vaccine on thousands of people. The vaccine has also been tested successfully on mice.
This first round of testing is definitely not the final word—any scientist can tell you that promising early results can disappear in later rounds of testing—but it’s a lot better to have good early results than bad ones. Moderna’s effort is just one of dozens around the world trying to find a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, too, so it’s not our only hope.