Details of Moderna Vaccine’s Initial Trial: Adequate Antibodies Against Corona, Minor Side Effects

Two months after American company Moderna’s encouraging statement about its experimental vaccine to combat coronavirus, details of clinical trials conducted on 45 volunteers have now been published, bringing positive reactions and support from parts of the scientific community.

Moderna’s chief executive announced in late May that the results of Phase 1 trials of the COVID-19 vaccine showed that the immune system of the people tested demonstrated the same response seen in people who had recovered from the disease.

This statement received extensive media coverage. However, the scientific community had called for the publication of details so they could judge for themselves, beyond commercial considerations.

The results have now been published in the New England Journal of Medicine, a reputable peer-reviewed specialty publication in the United States.

These results show that adequate antibodies were produced in all 45 volunteers to combat the coronavirus. At the same time, minor side effects were observed in many of the patients.

Anthony Fauci, a renowned American researcher and physician and a senior member of the U.S. COVID-19 response team, said the results are “encouraging.”

Fauci emphasized that “the data really look good; no severe side effects are observed.”

The specialized website “Stat News” quotes Betty Diamond, director of the Finstein Medical Research Institute in New York, saying “it’s definitely a good start. There aren’t that many issues that we’re unaware of.”

However, the website reiterates that it is still too early for final judgment on the Moderna vaccine. Of course, since that company’s statement was made until now, Moderna has moved to the next phase of clinical trials and is, according to news agencies, testing on 600 volunteers.

Based on the results published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the 45 initial trial volunteers were between 18 and 55 years old and were vaccinated twice at 28-day intervals.

After the first round, antibody production was higher than normal, but after the second round, roughly a month later, the level of antibodies against COVID-19 in all volunteers was higher than in many people who had previously been sick and whose bodies had produced adequate antibodies.

Side effects were observed in more than half of the volunteers, but these effects were not severe enough to halt the continuation of trials. Side effects included headaches, feelings of fatigue, chills, or body aches.

Some researchers have meanwhile said that the results published in the New England Journal are more encouraging because one or more vaccines will be produced that will reduce the consequences of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Currently, a number of American companies, Chinese companies, and also European ones, along with some other centers and institutions around the world, are conducting trials on a range of vaccines.

Two weeks ago, China reported that the company “Sinovac Biotech,” China’s second vaccine and the world’s third vaccine against coronavirus, would soon enter Phase 3 clinical trials.

On Monday, a senior U.S. government official said that pharmaceutical companies partnering with the government are on track to begin producing a vaccine against coronavirus-related disease from late summer.

Despite all this, even if one or more vaccines are produced in the coming months, there are various doubts about universal access to them. COVID-19 is a global pandemic that has left millions of patients and a significant number of casualties, and many countries in the world are not able to produce drugs or vaccines on their own.

Meanwhile, another concern expressed by some researchers is the “excessive speed” of the trials and reaching the production stage in a short period. Some of them recall that observing the actual side effects of vaccines sometimes takes years, and comprehensive caution must be exercised for production.

Source: Radio Farda