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Researchers rush to test coronavirus vaccine in people without knowing how well it works in animals
Article

Researchers rush to test coronavirus vaccine in people without knowing how well it works in animals

STAT, 2020

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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Scientific
  • Eye Opening
  • Hot Topic

Recommendation

If someone offered you a shot that might keep you from getting COVID-19, would you accept it? How about if you knew that it had done an end run around all of the conventional strategies for ensuring that new vaccines are both safe and efficacious? Anyone hoping for a quick resolution to the novel coronavirus pandemic will gain valuable perspective from this reader-friendly overview of the benefits and risks that efforts to fast-track development of an innovative vaccine are offering a world in tumult.

Summary

Researchers have developed a possible vaccine for COVID-19 in record time.

The Cambridge, Massachusetts, firm Moderna has used a novel approach to development to produce a novel coronavirus vaccine candidate.

[Editors Note: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious viral respiratory disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), also known as “novel coronavirus.” Reports in December 2019, from Wuhan, China, first cited the disease, which has spread globally, resulting in the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic that affects people and businesses worldwide.]

The approach, which essentially uses human molecules to make proteins that stimulate an immune reaction, has never been used to make a vaccine that’s ...

About the Author

Eric Boodman is a general assignment reporter for STAT. He graduated from Yale University, where he studied narrative journalism.