Coronavirus: First volunteers receive experimental vaccine
Experts say it will take up to 18 months to know if jab will work
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The first human trial of a vaccine to protect against the coronavirus has begun in the US.
Four patients received the jab at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle, the Associated Press news agency reported.
Some 45 young and healthy volunteers will receive different doses of shots co-developed by NIH and Moderna.
“We all feel so helpless. This is an amazing opportunity for me to do something,” the study’s first participant, Jennifer Haller, 43, of Seattle told the agency before she was vaccinated.
Public health officials said it will take between a year and 18 months to know if the vaccine will work.
There is no chance participants could become infected from the jobs, because they do not contain the virus.
The trial is intended to check the vaccines show no side effects.
Several research groups around the world are racing to create a vaccine, including a temporary jab which might protect people for a month or two while longer-lasting measures are developed.
Even if initial safety tests go well, “you’re talking about a year to a year and a half” before any vaccine could be ready for widespread use, Anthony Fauci, the director of NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told the Associated Press.
It still would be a record-setting pace, but manufacturers know the wait – required because it takes additional studies of thousands of people to tell if a vaccine truly protects and does no harm – is hard for a frightened public.
Donald Trump has been pushing for swift action on a vaccine, saying in recent days the work is “moving along very quickly” and he hopes to see a vaccine “relatively soon”.
The coronavirus has infected more than 168,000 people worldwide and killed at least 6,610, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
It comes as Australian researchers said they had mapped the immune responses from one of the country’s first Covid-19 patients, which the health minister said was an important step in developing a vaccine and treatment.
Researchers at Australia’s Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity said they had taken an important step in understanding the virus.
By examining the blood results from an unidentified woman in her 40s, they discovered that people’s immune systems respond to coronavirus in the same way it typically fights flu.
The findings would help scientists understand why some patients recover while others develop more serious respiratory problems, the researchers said.
Additional reporting by agencies
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments