Promising Chinese COVID vaccine in early trials of people

Friday, May 22, 2020 (Health Day News) -Another COVID-19 vaccine candidate achieved early good results, a Chinese research team reported Friday.

Experimental vaccines have produced important signs of an immune response in a small group of adults. This is a sign that it may protect people from COVID-19, researchers reported online May 22. Lancet Medical magazine.

“These results represent a significant milestone,” said Researcher Wei Chen, a member of the Beijing Biotechnology Institute team, in a journal news release.

“But these results should be interpreted with caution,” continued Chen. “The challenges in developing the COVD-19 vaccine are unprecedented, and their ability to elicit an immune response does not necessarily indicate that the vaccine protects humans from COVID-19.”

This particular vaccine candidate used a weakened cold virus called adenovirus to safely deliver the COVID-19 coronavirus genetic material to human cells.

This causes the body to produce the “spike” protein that coronavirus uses to enter human cells. Next, the researchers say that the immune system responds to the presence of the protein by creating antibodies that could fight off future coronavirus infections.

Within a month, most of the 108 healthy adult participants in the Phase 1 trial had a 4-fold increase in bound antibody. These antibodies can bind to the coronavirus, but they do not necessarily attack.

According to the researchers, half of the participants who received low or medium doses and three-quarters of participants who received high doses also developed neutralizing antibodies that could protect the body from coronavirus.

“The virus not only elicited antibodies, but T cell immunity will also be important to confirm protection,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior researcher at the Johns Hopkins Health and Safety Center. Welcome. “

However, Adaria said that the vaccine could use the common cold virus to deliver its genetic payload, which could hinder its effectiveness.

“Adenovirus is very common and there are many people with pre-existing immunity,” said Adalja. “In previous trials using this type of platform for HIV vaccination, there was a paradoxical increase in the risk of infection among vaccinated people who had already had adenovirus 5 immunity. It is important to scrutinize whether it exists in Phase 2 and Phase 3 trials. “

Chinese researchers pointed out that in clinical trials there was some evidence of this, and people with pre-existing cold virus immunity had a diminished immune response to the vaccine.

A full-scale Phase 2 trial has begun in Wuhan to see if the results can be replicated in 500 healthy adults. Includes 250 mid-dose volunteers and 250 low-dose or placebo volunteers.

The US Department of Health and Human Services has entered the media of all courts to develop the potential for the COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

US federal officials announced Thursday that the agency would provide up to $ 1.2 billion to drug company AstraZeneca to develop a potential coronavirus vaccine from a laboratory at Oxford University in the United Kingdom.

The fourth and largest vaccine research contract is about 30,000 volunteers for a potential vaccine clinical trial in the United States this summer, New York Times report.

Target? In a statement, HHS said it would administer at least 300 million doses, which may be available as early as October.

However, many experts say that an effective, mass-produced vaccine will be first available sometime next year, requiring billions of doses worldwide.

The United States has already agreed to provide biotechnology company Moderna $ 483 million and Johnson & Johnson $ 500 million for vaccine efforts. It also provides $ 30 million for a viral vaccine initiative led by French company Sanofi. Times report.

For more information

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 (New Coronavirus Infection) (# If there is no character limit, add parentheses when first appearing..