First Human Trial Of COVID-19 Vaccine Generates An Immune Response
The Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, in the first human trial of COVID-19 vaccine has found that a candidate generated an immune response against the virus and is safe. According to the peer-reviewed study, published in the journal The Lancet, a single dose of the vaccine is capable of producing virus-fighting antibodies and T cells, a type of immune cell, two weeks after it’s administered.
During the trial, the patients produced no serious adverse effects at all strength of doses. After two weeks’ the vaccine produced virus-fighting antibodies across all dose levels. The antibody response to the vaccine in the high dose group was slightly greater than that in the middle dose and low dose groups.
The results of the trial conducted on 108 patients in Wuhan have been published in The Lancet and was released on May 22.
The lead researcher on the study, Professor Wei Chen, said that the challenges in the development of a COVD-19 vaccine are out of the ordinary. “The positive results of the vaccine show a silver lining for the development of COVID-19 vaccine, but we are still a long way from this vaccine being available to all,” said Professor Wei Chen.
The study authors also noted the fact that the research is limited because of its small sample size with short duration of follow up.