TUESDAY, July 28, 2020 (HealthDay News) — A vaccine<\/a> developed by the U.S. National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc. has entered the final phase of testing, the Associated Press<\/i> reported Monday.<\/p>\n To see if the vaccine<\/a> will protect people from the virus, 30,000 volunteers will randomly receive the two doses of the vaccine or a placebo.<\/p>\n The participants will be followed to see which group gets infected.<\/p>\n “Unfortunately for the United States of America, we have plenty of infections right now,” NIH’s Dr. Anthony Fauci told the AP<\/i>.<\/p>\n According to Moderna, vaccination has been tried out in Savannah, Ga., and will be given in more than 80 sites around the country.<\/p>\n This is only one of the many vaccines<\/a> under development worldwide. Other trials are underway in China and Britain, and final tests have started in Brazil and other countries.<\/p>\n Before a vaccine can be approved in the United States it must be tested here. Through fall, the COVID-19 Prevention<\/a> Network will test new vaccines<\/a> — each with 30,000 volunteers, the AP<\/i> notes.<\/p>\n These tests will determine which vaccine works best and is safest. Vaccines<\/a> from Johnson & Johnson and Novavax and Pfizer Inc. are all slated for testing.<\/p>\n It usually takes years to develop a new vaccine, but specialists are racing to find an effective vaccine that can curb the pandemic.<\/p>\n “We all feel so helpless right now. There’s very little that we can do to combat this virus. And being able to participate in this trial has given me a sense of, that I’m doing something,” trial volunteer Jennifer Haller of Seattle told the AP<\/i>. “Be prepared for a lot of questions from your friends and family about how it’s going, and a lot of thank-you’s.”<\/p>\n In early trials the vaccine boosted the immune system in ways expected to be protective. Some side effects, such as a brief fever<\/a>, chills<\/a> and pain<\/a> at the injection site were seen. These findings were also seen in the other vaccines<\/a> scheduled for testing.<\/p>\n If the vaccine passes the test, it will be months before it can reach the general public.<\/p>\n The first doses will be most likely, be given to people at highest risk from the virus, the AP<\/i> said.<\/p>\n “We’re optimistic, cautiously optimistic” that the vaccine will work and that “toward the end of the year” data will prove it, Dr. Stephen Hoge, president of Massachusetts-based Moderna, told a House subcommittee last week, the AP<\/i> reported.<\/p>\n “I don’t know what the chances are that this is the exact right vaccine. But thank goodness that there are so many others out there battling this right now,” Haller said.<\/p>\n ![\"MedicalNews\"](\"https:\/\/images.medicinenet.com\/images\/HealthDay\/healthday.png\")
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