COVID-19 Vaccine Shows Promising Results for Older Adults, Moderna Says
A view of Moderna headquarters on May 08, 2020, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Moderna was given FDA approval to continue to phase 2 of COVID-19 vaccine trials with 600 participants.
The biotech company, Moderna, announced Wednesday, its potential COVID-19 vaccine resulted in a "promising immune response" in older adults in an early-stage clinical test.
According to the Massachusetts-based firm tried its vaccine on 10 adult individuals aged between 56 and 70 years and 10 older adults whose ages are between 71 and older.
The company also said each of the participants was given "two 100 microgram doses of the vaccine" with a 28-day interval.
As a result, the participants reportedly generated neutralizing antibodies, which study authors trust, are essential to developing resistance to the virus, and T-cells.
Furthermore, the antibodies generated, the findings also specified, were higher than those seen in individuals who have recovered from the COVID-19.
The vaccine, Moderna said, also seemed to be well accepted without any serious negative occurrence reported. However, the company added, some participants reported they experienced "fatigue, chills, headaches and pain" in the injection area, although most of the symptoms were addressed and disappeared within two days.
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Among the Numerous Vaccines Currently being Developed
According to recent reports, Moderna shares were up almost six percent "in intraday training Wednesday."
The Moderna vaccine is among several currently in development to combat COVID-19 which, as of this writing, has already infected over 24.3 million people globally and killed more than 828,000, according to data from worldometers.
To date, according to the World Health Organization, there are over 170 vaccines being developed globally. The organization also said, more than 30 of these vaccines are presently in clinical tests.
Meanwhile, the United States officials say, going back to "normal" is not happening until the availability of a vaccine.
Experimental Vaccine
This experimental vaccine of Moderna contains genetic material also known as "messenger RNA, or mRNA," which researchers hope, aggravates the immune system to combat the virus.
In May this year, the biotech firm released initial data showing that the vaccine generated antibodies in 45 healthy adults.
Researchers had previously warned that the phase of one research was small, and the findings may vary for other populations, including the older adults "who generally mount a weaker immune response."
The new data presented yesterday, reports indicate, is likely to raise hopes for the availability of a vaccine that's safe and efficient to fight COVID-19 by the end of this year or early next year.
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Phase Three 3 Trial
Last month, Moderna said it started its phase three trial testing the safety and efficacy of the vaccine on 30,000 individuals with results expected to come out in October. The firm said it is looking forward to the completion of its phase three trial's enrollment next month.
The company announced earlier this month, and it is charging from $32 to $37 a dose for its COVID-19 vaccine for some customers, under less expensive "pandemic pricing."
Furthermore, earlier this month too, US President Donald Trump announced, his administration would buy 100 doses of vaccine from Moderna under a $1.53-billion deal.
The US government also said it has already invested $955 million in the development of Modena's vaccine, totaling its investment to almost $2.5 billion in all.
Researchers said they anticipate that antibodies offer some amount of protection from contracting COVID-19. However, they cannot say that absolutely yet as the virus, they explained, was originally discovered "less than eight months ago."
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Aug 27, 2020 07:00 AM EDT
