Thousands of volunteers begin tests of US Government’s vaccine

THE world’s biggest Covid 19 vaccine study got under way with the first of 30,000 planned volunteers helping to test jabs created by the US government.

It is one of several candidates in the final stretch of the global vaccine race.

There is still no guarantee that the experimental vaccine, developed by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc, will really protect.

Volunteers will not know if they are getting the real shot or a dummy version.

After two doses, scientists will closely track which group experiences more infections as they go about their daily routines, especially in areas where the virus still is spreading unchecked.

“Unfortunately for the United States of America, we have plenty of infections right now” to get that answer, NIH’s Dr Anthony Fauci recently said.

Several other vaccines made by China and by the University of Oxford earlier this month began smaller final-stage tests in Brazil and other hard-hit countries.

But the US requires its own tests of any vaccine that might be used in the country and has set a high bar.

Every month through autumn, the government-funded Covid-19 Prevention Network will roll out a new study of a leading candidate, each one with 30,000 newly recruited volunteers. The massive studies are not just to test if the jabs – they are needed to check each potential vaccine’s safety.

And following the same study rules will let scientists eventually compare all the shots.

Next up in August, the final study of the Oxford shot begins, followed by plans to test a candidate from Johnson & Johnson in September and Novavax in October if all goes according to schedule.