A Wave of Good Results in COVID-19 Vaccine Studies
2020-07-22
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1Researchers are reporting progress in the race to develop a safe and effective vaccine against the new coronavirus.
2The disease it causes, COVID-19, has killed at least 610,000 people worldwide.
3 More than 14.7 million people have been infected.
4Two different experimental vaccines have produced strong immune reactions in people involved in the studies.
5And neither produced serious unwanted effects.
6The separate research was published Monday in the British medical journal The Lancet.
7The most promising of the two preventative medicines comes from a partnership between Oxford University in Britain and drug maker AstraZeneca.
8The company has signed agreements with many governments to supply its vaccine if it proves to be effective and wins legal approval.
9AstraZeneca has promised to make 2 billion vaccine treatments.
10The New York Times newspaper reports that the vaccine has been given to more than 10,000 volunteers in Britain, Brazil and South Africa.
11It says 30,000 people in the United States are to receive the experimental vaccine next week.
12The drug company CanSinoBiologics Incorporated and the Chinese military is developing the other vaccine.
13It was tested on 508 healthy volunteers who received one treatment each, the researchers reported.
14Most of those tested showed a good immune reaction.
15About 77 percent of the volunteers reported temporary side effects, including increased body temperature and pain at the place of injection.
16None of the side effects were severe or unusual, the researchers reported.
17Both the AstraZeneca and CanSino vaccines use a harmless adenovirus to carry genetic material from the new coronavirus into the body.
18"Overall, the results of both trials are broadly similar and promising," Naor Bar-Zeev and William Moss wrote in The Lancet.
19Both writers are vaccine experts at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland.
20Also Monday, the drug maker Pfizer and its partner BioNTech reported success on their vaccine candidate.
21That study was small, involving 60 healthy adults.
22Outside experts have not yet examined the research findings.
23Last week, the medical research company Moderna announced strong immune reaction in tests of a vaccine developed by researchers at the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
24However, the volunteers involved in that research reported more unwanted effects such as tiredness, head pain, chills and muscle pain.
25Dr. Peter Hotez is an infectious diseases expert at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas.
26On Monday, he told the American news group CNN that "the first vaccines may not be our best vaccines."
27Hotez said it would probably take another year to produce all the necessary evidence that the new coronavirus vaccines are safe and effective.
28Early Tuesday, European leaders agreed on a $2.1-trillion budget.
29The agreement includes $857 billion in coronavirus support that will be issued as loans and aid to the hardest-hit countries.
30I'm Caty Weaver.
1Researchers are reporting progress in the race to develop a safe and effective vaccine against the new coronavirus. The disease it causes, COVID-19, has killed at least 610,000 people worldwide. More than 14.7 million people have been infected. 2Two different experimental vaccines have produced strong immune reactions in people involved in the studies. And neither produced serious unwanted effects. The separate research was published Monday in the British medical journal The Lancet. 3The most promising of the two preventative medicines comes from a partnership between Oxford University in Britain and drug maker AstraZeneca. The company has signed agreements with many governments to supply its vaccine if it proves to be effective and wins legal approval. AstraZeneca has promised to make 2 billion vaccine treatments. 4The New York Times newspaper reports that the vaccine has been given to more than 10,000 volunteers in Britain, Brazil and South Africa. It says 30,000 people in the United States are to receive the experimental vaccine next week. 5The drug company CanSinoBiologics Incorporated and the Chinese military is developing the other vaccine. It was tested on 508 healthy volunteers who received one treatment each, the researchers reported. Most of those tested showed a good immune reaction. 6About 77 percent of the volunteers reported temporary side effects, including increased body temperature and pain at the place of injection. None of the side effects were severe or unusual, the researchers reported. 7Both the AstraZeneca and CanSino vaccines use a harmless adenovirus to carry genetic material from the new coronavirus into the body. 8"Overall, the results of both trials are broadly similar and promising," Naor Bar-Zeev and William Moss wrote in The Lancet. Both writers are vaccine experts at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland. 9Also Monday, the drug maker Pfizer and its partner BioNTech reported success on their vaccine candidate. That study was small, involving 60 healthy adults. Outside experts have not yet examined the research findings. 10Last week, the medical research company Moderna announced strong immune reaction in tests of a vaccine developed by researchers at the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. However, the volunteers involved in that research reported more unwanted effects such as tiredness, head pain, chills and muscle pain. 11Dr. Peter Hotez is an infectious diseases expert at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. On Monday, he told the American news group CNN that "the first vaccines may not be our best vaccines." Hotez said it would probably take another year to produce all the necessary evidence that the new coronavirus vaccines are safe and effective. 12Early Tuesday, European leaders agreed on a $2.1-trillion budget. The agreement includes $857 billion in coronavirus support that will be issued as loans and aid to the hardest-hit countries. 13I'm Caty Weaver. 14VOANews reported this story. Caty Weaver adapted it with additional information from Reuters News Agency. Ashley Thompson was the editor. 15________________________________________________________________ 16Words in This Story 17immune -adj. of or relating to the body's defense system 18journal -n. a magazine that reports on things of special interest to a particular group of people 19chills -n. a feeling of being