Covid-19 Vaccine Progress
As you may already know, COVID-19 is a specific strand of the coronavirus that began in Wuhan, China in 2019. COVID-19 quickly spread across the world, infecting millions of people worldwide and killing hundreds of thousands. Ever since the outbreak of COVID-19, researchers have been working tirelessly to try to find a vaccine to protect vulnerable members of the population. Researchers created the mRNA-1273 vaccine in mid-March, but in order for the vaccine to be approved, it must go through several testing stages that could take up to 2 years to complete.
During Phase 1 of testing, the vaccine was administered to forty-five healthy adults from the ages of 18 to 55 to determine whether it truly worked. According to the Georgia Institutes of National Health, “The investigational vaccine induced a strong immune response and was generally well-tolerated. Antibody levels were higher with higher doses of the vaccine.” Evidently, the vaccine resulted in positive outcomes, meaning that researchers are one step closer to completing the testing stage.
Although the vaccine did improve immune responses, there were some insignificant side effects. The side effects included fatigue, chills, headaches, or pain at the injection site (National Health of Institutes). As a result, researchers are continuing their work and efforts to minimize the side effects and test the vaccine on a larger scale. Phase 3 of the COVID-19 vaccine trial would mean that it would be administered to thousands of people. Those who receive the vaccine would be monitored and tested frequently to check for promising immune responses, antibody strands, and any possible side effects. Overall, scientists are working restlessly in order to create a safe and functional vaccine that would bring a sense of relief to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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