07/27/2020 - 9:57
- Clarín.com
- World
The largest study of the world to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus began Monday with a first group of 30,000 volunteers who help test vaccines created by the US government, one of several competitors in the final of the world vaccine race.
There is still no guarantee that the experimental vaccine, developed by the National Institutes of Health and Modern Inc., will actually protect.
In search of evidence
The 30,000 volunteers have already been injected, but none knows whether they received the actual vaccine or a placebo. After two doses, scientists will now closely follow which group experiences more infections as they go about their daily routines, especially in areas where the virus is still spreading uncontrollably.
What is Coronavirus? How is it spread and what are its symptoms?
Watch the special"Unfortunately for the United States, we have a lot of infections right now" to get that answer, Dr. Anthony Fauci of the NIH recently told The Associated Press.
Moderna said the vaccination was conducted in Savannah, Georgia , the first site to be launched among more than seven dozen test sites scattered across the country.
Moderna headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts./ AFP
Several other vaccines made by China and by Britain's Oxford University earlier this month began smaller tests at the final stage in Brazil and other affected countries.
The calendar
Each month throughout the fall, the government-funded Covid Prevention Network will conduct a study with each candidate vaccine, each with 30,000 new volunteers at a time.
Mass studies aren't just about evaluating whether vaccines work. They are necessary to verify the safety of each potential vaccine. And following the same study rules will allow scientists to eventually compare all vaccines.
Each month, the US will test a different vaccine. / Reuters
The final Oxford vaccine study begins in August, followed by plans to evaluate a candidate dose of Johnson & Johnson in September and Novavax in October, if all goes as planned. Pfizer Inc. plans its own study of 30,000 people this summer.
That's an amazing number of people who need to roll up their sleeves for science. But it is not a difficult figure to get. In the past few weeks, more than 150,000 Americans have completed an online registration indicating interest, said Dr. Larry Corey, a virologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Institute in Seattle.
"These trials must be multigenerational, they must be multiethnic, they must reflect the diversity of the United States population," Corey said at a meeting on vaccines last week.
He emphasized that it is especially important to secure enough black and Hispanic participants , as those populations are greatly affected by COVID-19.
By Lauran Neergaard, Associated Press