Author: Sara Habibipour
Within the past five days, there has been significant improvement in the race to develop a safe and effective vaccine for the Sars-Cov-2 virus.
Phase 1 study results by Moderna were published in the New England Journal of Medicine on July 14, 2020 under the title"An mRNA Vaccine Against Sars-Cov-2--Preliminary Report."
Here is a quick summary of the results of that study:
45 adult patients received an mRNA (non-live) vaccine, manufactured by Moderna, which encodes the S2-P antigen, otherwise known as the spike protein. The spike protein is what differentiates Sars-Cov-2 from other coronaviruses, and is therefore a good target to attack.
These patients received vaccinations of 25, 100, and 250 micrograms at two different time periods, 28 days a part.
No serious adverse events were reported. But, after the first vaccination systemic adverse events were reported by 5 participants (33%) in the 25 microgram group, 10 (67%) in the 100 microgram group, and 8 (53%) in the 250 microgram group. Solicited systemic adverse events were more common after the second vaccination where they occurred in 7 of 13 participants (54%) in the 25 microgram group, all 15 in the 100 microgram group, and all 14 in the 250 microgram group, with 3 of those participants (21%) reporting one or more severe events.
Systemic effects are symptoms located in tissues other than the injection site, for example fever, headache, nausea, etc.
Local adverse effects were very mild and universal across the participants, mainly just including pain and redness at the injection site.
Luckily, after the second dose of the vaccine, the virus was largely neutralized, meaning that it could no longer replicate in the patients' bodies. Because of these results, the trial will move onto its next phase (phase 3) and 30,000 people will receive it next. This next phase is anticipated to occur sometime this summer (summer 2020).
What do we still not know about this trial, though?
Well, although these are promising results, the vaccine was only given to 45 participants, all aged 18-55, so we don't know if this vaccine is effective on children or the elderly.
We also don't know if the side effects are long term or even if immunity is long term. To find out why, read this article.
Thank you for reading. Education is the only way to a healthier future.
Source: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2022483?source=nejmtwitter&medium=organicsocial
Stock Image Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-view-of-person-holding-a-vaccine-4047148/