Scientists have reported on the success of the first test of vaccine against COVID-19

CNN reports about a press release published today by Moderna, an American biotechnology company: people who received the coronavirus vaccine developed antibodies and were free from side effects.

Irina Ziganshina

Moderna, a laboratory based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of eight global developers who, according to WHO, are already conducting clinical trials of potential vaccines against the new coronavirus in humans. The other two, Pfizer and Inovio, are also located in the United States, one at Oxford University in the UK, and three more in China.

By phase 1 of clinical trials, when a vaccine safety study was being conducted with a small group of people, Moderna recruited 8 people. Everyone, as reported in a press release, as a result of vaccination, antibodies to the virus developed at levels reaching or exceeding those observed in people who have had COVID-19.

Now the company is about to start phase 2 trials, which usually involve more people, and in July phase 3 trials: it includes large-scale vaccine testing, usually in tens of thousands of patients. The duration of such trials varies greatly, so there’s certainty about how much time they can take and when the vaccine will be available to the public, now no.

It was reported that when taking the highest doses, the three participants had “the most noticeable side effects” that resolved, while no serious “side effects” were reported. During phase 3, lower doses will be tested.