BREAKTHROUGH?

Moderna’s COVID-19 Vaccine Produced Antibodies in All Initial Trial Participants

The vaccine moves to its late-stage trial on July 27.

Biotech company Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine reportedly produced coronavirus antibodies in all participants in the initial safety trial, and will begin its late-stage trial on July 27. Thirty thousand people will participate in 87 locations, according to a posting on ClinicalTrials.gov. Those receiving the experimental vaccine will be given two doses of 100 micrograms 29 days apart. Others in the trial will receive a placebo. Moderna’s vaccine is one of more than 100 vaccines being developed around the world. Earlier in July, vaccine competitor Pfizer released positive results from its early-stage vaccine trial. Moderna, like Pfizer, is testing an mRNA vaccine, which works by injecting genetic material that tells cells to build a certain protein. The United States hopes to deliver 300 million COVID-19 vaccine doses by the beginning of 2021.