There are numerous efforts underway at research institutions and universities and drug companies–as well as national health agencies–to develop vaccines to fight COVID-19.
The scientific journal The Lancet published preliminary results of a study at Oxford University, showing the vaccine is safe and that it is producing an immune response in two parts of the immune system. Oxford University said that 1,077 healthy volunteers between 18 and 55 took part in its Phase I/II trial, which began in April. Ten of the participants had two doses. Oxford University is working with the drug maker AstraZeneca.
The Lancet also on Monday published early results of a potential vaccine trial by the Chinese company CanSino Biologics. The trial was done in Wuhan, China with 508 health volunteers who had never had the novel coronavirus which causes COVID-19. This randomized trial determined that the CanSino Biologics potential vaccine is safe and produced an immune response.
On July 13, the American drug company Pfizer and the German drug maker BioNTech announced they had received FDA Fast Track Designation to pursue development of a COVID vaccine in Phase 1 and Phase 2 trials for two of their four possible COVID-19 vaccines.
On July 14, the New England Journal of Medicine published results of Moderna’s Phase I trial, which tested different dosages of its potential vaccine in three groups of health volunteers ages 18 to 55. The participants received two doses of the vaccine, and the doses were determined to be both safe and to produce an immune response. This trial is being done in conjunction with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health. Click here for a previous story about these results.
The goal is to find a vaccine or vaccines that can help protect people against COVID-19, and begin to provide “herd immunity,” with enough people vaccinated that most will be protected against the potentially deadly virus. But with such a new virus, it’s not known yet how long a vaccine will last. People now are encouraged to get a flu shot every year, and that shot is generally not 100% effective. There are other types of diseases, such as mumps, measles, and chicken pox, where the vaccines last years to a lifetime.