Covid-19: Experimental vaccine safe, generates immune response

Date: July 14, 2020 (SD article)
Date: July 19, 2020 (release of this article)
Source: NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Summary of ScienceDaily: „An investigational vaccine, mRNA-1273, designed to protect against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), was generally well tolerated and prompted neutralizing antibody activity in healthy adults, according to interim results.“

Method of Research

45 Participants ranging from the ages 18 to 55 years enrolled at the study sites in Seattle and at Emory University in Atlanta. The 45 participants were divided into three groups, each group consisting of 15 individuals. They received two intramuscular injections (injection directly into the muscle), 28 days apart, of either 25, 100 or 250 micrograms (mcg) of mRNA-1273 (the investigational vaccine).

All participants received one injection; 42 received both scheduled injections.
The first participant received the experimental vaccine on March 16.

Note: The article also mentions that in April the trial was expanded to enroll adults older than the age of 55, which means it has now 120 participants. However, the results only cover the first 45 participants.

Findings

• After the second injection, tests measured levels of vaccine-induced neutralizing activity through day 43
• Two doses of vaccine led to high levels of neutralizing antibody activity which were above the average values seen in convalescent sera* obtained from persons with confirmed COVID-19 disease.
  
  *Convalescent sera: „serum obtained from one who has recovered from an infectious disease and considered to be especially rich in antibodies against the infectious agent of the disease“ (as defined by Merriam-Webster)

More

The ScienceDaily article also elaborates on the safety of the experimental vaccine:

„Regarding safety, no serious adverse events were reported. More than half of the participants reported fatigue, headache, chills, myalgia or pain at the injection site. Systemic adverse events were more common following the second vaccination and in those who received the highest vaccine dose.“

The data collected from this first clinical trial (side effects and immune responses of various vaccine dosages) „informed the doses used or planned for use in the Phase 2 and 3 clinical trials of the investigational vaccine“.

Phase 2 clinical trial of mRNA-1273 – sponsored by Moderna – began in late May.
Phase 3 is planned to be launched in July 2020.

Note: As it is with the other science articles, some sentences and even paragraphs may be transfered 1:1 due to my still not-so-excellent English skills. I want to avoid information loss and similar things, I hope it is understandable.

Source

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200714171338.htm