A coronavirus vaccine is in works, but scientists have taken a look at the first data, which shows how good different vaccines are, and how likely they are to work. And right now, we don’t know what to say about that.
On the 18th of May, Moderna, a US biotech firm has talked about the first data we got from a human trial. The COVID-10 vaccine showed an immune response in people. It protected mice from lung infections. The results were positive. However, due to the lack of detail, people are skeptical.
Tests show that other vaccines have prevented infection in lungs, in monkeys that were exposed to COVID-19. However, not in other parts of the body. Another vaccine protected six monkeys from pneumonia, but they found in their noses the virus. The Chinese also started trials on animals.
Early data shows how the vaccines for the coronavirus will generate a robust immune response. Of course, animal data is essential for us to understand how these vaccines work. Dave O’Connor, virologist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, stated: “We might have vaccines in the clinic that are useful in people within 12 or 18 months. But we’re going to need to improve on them to develop second- and third-generation vaccines.”
The vaccinee from Moderna, started testing in humans back in March. The vaccine has mRNA instructions for building the coronavirus’s spike protein. It causes human cells to alert the immune system when there’s a foreign protein in the body. These vaccines are very easy to develop, but right now, they are not licensed anywhere in the world.
The company stated that 45 participants in a study who got one or two doses of the vaccine, were able to develop a strong immune response to this virus.
