THE FIRST PEOPLE TEST THE NEW VIRUS CORONA VACCINE IN THE US

Four of the 45 volunteers in the US received the first shot of an experimental vaccine against the new strain of corona virus on March 16.

Jennifer Haller (left) is one of 45 volunteers participating in a phase 1 clinical trial investigating the safety of a potential vaccine, taking place at the Kaiser Permanente Research Institute in Seattle, Washington. "We all feel useless. This is a great opportunity for me to do something about it," Ms. Haller, 43, chief operating officer of a Seattle-based technology company, told the AP before the injection.

Three other volunteers with Ms. Haller became the first to test the vaccine, codenamed mRNA-1273, coordinated by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Massachusetts-based Moderna biotechnology company. research modulation.

Vaccine testing comes 65 days after Chinese scientists shared data on the genome of the new corona virus strain that causes Covid-19 disease. According to Anthony Fauci, director of the Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of NIH, this is the record of time to prepare vaccines for testing.

A total of 45 volunteers will receive two injections, one month apart. If it is proven to be safe, the vaccine could be used for mass use within the next 12-18 months, according to Mr. Fauci.

This is not the only potential vaccine being studied. Dozens of research groups around the world are racing to create a vaccine to prevent Covid-19 disease. A vaccine developed by Inovio Pharmaceuticals is expected to begin safety studies next month in both the US, China and South Korea.

The trial in Seattle comes after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Covid-19 a pandemic because of the rapid global spread of the virus. To date, the world has recorded more than 169,000 cases with more than 6,500 deaths.

Volunteers, aged 18-55, are at no risk of infection because the vaccine does not contain the virus strain itself. However, some people will be given higher doses of injections than others to check the level of the immune response the body produces.

"We don't know if the vaccine will induce an immune response, nor is it safe. That's why we test it," said Lisa Jackson, vaccine testing lead at Kaiser Permanente. to speak.

Starting what was seen as a "first in person" experiment is of great significance in the scientific community, but Ms. Jackson says the atmosphere that envelops her group is "quiet." They have been racing against time to get ready to test the vaccine in one of America's earliest and worst-affected areas.

However, "from not even knowing the virus is out there ... to getting the vaccine" to be tested for about two months is unprecedented, Jackson said.

The whole world is racing to find a cure for corona virus Laboratories all over the world are working hard to find a new vaccine. Currently, all are just clinical trials but have gained many positive effects.

Source updated from zing.vn