Moderna's COVID Vaccine Candidate Appears to Be Safe and Provide Some Immunity, Early Trial Shows

The results from an early phase trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggest that a candidate vaccine against COVID-19 developed by the U.S. government and Moderna appears to be safe and to induce an immune response, reports USA Today . Moderna Chief Medical Officer Tal Zaks said while the protective effects of the mRNA-1273 vaccine cannot be technically known at this time, all indications are that it will be safe and effective. He added that the levels of protective antibodies produced by trial participants were similar to those in persons who had recovered from COVID-19, suggesting that mRNA-1273 delivers the same protection as an infection. Animal studies also indicated that the vaccine can protect mice against infection, with primate and Syrian hamster trials now underway. Zaks also said the mRNA-1273 candidate did not produce a type of immune cell that with other diseases harms vaccinated people. Peter Hotez, Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, cautioned that "it's hard to know if the level of virus neutralizing antibody will be sufficient to induce protective immunity, or if it compares favorably with other vaccine candidates." Zaks confirmed that a 30,000-participant Phase 3 trial of the vaccine candidate is scheduled to start July 27.