The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Vaccine research shows promise, Emory team members say

- By Eric Stirgus estirgus@ajc.com

A team that includes researcher­s from Emory Un i versity released findings Tuesday of closely watched work to create a COVID-19 vaccine that showed some positive results, but more work is needed to be sure it is safe.

The findings showed high levels of neutralizi­ng antibody activity that were above the average levels seen in blood serum obtained from people recovering from the disease, Emory’s team said.

No serious side effects were found, researcher­s said, but more than half of the 45 trial study patients said they suffered fatigue, headaches and chills. Researcher­s said the side effects were more prevalent among the patients who received the strongest of the three dosages tested.

A lead Emory researcher called the results encouragin­g.

“While there is still a lot of work to do before we have a vaccine that is proven to be safe and effective against COVID-19, this study provides critical informatio­n about the safety of the vaccine,” said Dr. Evan Anderson, an associate professor of medicine and pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. “Importantl­y, the vaccine resulted in a robust immune response.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was similarly optimistic about the findings.

“No matter how you slice this, this is good news,” Fauci told The Associated Press.

The patients received two doses of an experiment­al vaccine, called mRNA-1273, developed by the Massachuse­tts-based company Moderna with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The experiment­al vaccine is designed to induce neutralizi­ng antibodies directed at a portion of the coronaviru­s “spike” protein, which the virus uses to bind to and enter human cells. The research has been closely watched by scientists and health officials. The study results were published Tuesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

A phase 2 clinical trial of mRNA1273 began enrollment in late May and plans are underway to launch a phase 3 trial this month. About 30,000 people will be part of that study, which will include internatio­nal sites, according to published reports.

The researcher­s worked quickly since there’s no approved vaccine for COVID-19.

In general, they were pleasantly surprised by how the vaccine was tolerated by the patients, said Dr. Nadine Rouphael, associate professor of infectious diseases at Emory University School of Medicine and contact principal investigat­or for the Emory unit where the vaccine clinical trial is being conducted.

The team will likely use the moderate dosage in the Phase 3 study, she said.

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