(Newser)
– The first COVID-19 vaccine tested in the US boosted people’s immune systems as scientists expected, the researchers reported Tuesday, as the vaccines are about to begin key final tests. “No matter how this is cut, this is good news,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, told the AP. The experimental vaccine, developed by Fauci’s colleagues at the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc., will begin its most important step around July 27: a study of 30,000 people to test whether the vaccines are really strong enough to protect against coronavirus. But on Tuesday, researchers reported eagerly expected results from the first 45 volunteers who rolled up their sleeves in March. Indeed, the vaccine provided an expected immune boost.
Those early volunteers developed what are called neutralizing antibodies in their bloodstream (key molecules to block infection) at levels comparable to those found in people who survived COVID-19, the research team reported in the New England Journal of Medicine. There is no guarantee, but the government hopes to have results by the end of the year, record speed for developing a vaccine. The vaccine requires two doses, one month apart. There were no serious side effects. But more than half of the study participants reported flu-like reactions to vaccines that are not uncommon with other vaccines: fatigue, headache, chills, fever, and pain at the injection site. Nearly two dozen potential COVID-19 vaccines are in various stages of testing worldwide. Candidates from China and the Oxford University of Great Britain are also entering the final stages of evaluation.
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