CHASING ‘THE HOLY GRAIL’
Moderna vaccine trial in Boston going ‘extremely well,’ still looking for more participants
The Moderna coronavirus vaccine trial underway at Brigham and Women’s Hospital is going “extremely well,” according to the principal investigator, and there is still time for more participants to join.
“If we could turn COVID into a common cold, I think that’s successful. If we can prevent people from getting COVID completely that’s even more successful. But I think both are very valuable,” said Dr. Lindsey Baden, co-principal investigator of the vaccine trial and infectious disease specialist at BWH.
Baden said it’s still unknown if the vaccine will shut out coronavirus completely or prevent illness from the disease, and determining how it works hinges on community exposure to the virus.
“What influences the speed with which we get to an answer is the speed with which COVID has been transmitted,” Baden
said.
He added, “Sadly, things are happening faster than any of us want because the transmission of COVID is out of control.”
Still, Baden said the study is “progressing extremely well,” and no patterns of concern have been identified.
“The vaccines are being given, they’re generally well received,” Baden said.
There are several hundred participants taking part in the Moderna trial site at the Brigham and enrollment will draw to a close this month.
Tens of thousands more are participating nationwide.
Trial participants will be followed closely, with researchers hoping to gain information about safety and efficacy, along with immune response, the length of which remains largely unknown.
“The hope is that the immune response is durable, and if not lifelong, lasts years, but we have to define that,” Baden said.
Baden described a coronavirus vaccine as “the holy grail,” but said it needs to be an approach that works along with other public health interventions like masking and hand hygiene.
“We need to layer on a vaccine depending on how effective it is, how well it works, on how available it is, what type of side effects it may or may not have,” Baden said.
As the world continues to wait for pandemic relief, Baden said the study timeline is hard to nail down. “We need to follow the science, if we short circuit the scientific process we do that with great risk. There is a need to understand efficacy. There’s a need to understand safety,” Baden said.
Several other candidates are headed toward the finish line with Moderna and Pfizer leading the pack in terms of timing of phase 3 studies, but having many overall winners will be most beneficial to all.
“All of the platforms being advanced are of great interest. My hope is they all will work. The question is how quickly can we develop them and assess if they work,” Baden said.
Those who are interested in enrolling in the trial can contact the study team at Brigham and Women’s Hospital at 978-822-2463 or via email at vaccines@partners.org.