While Moderna’s Vaccine Offers Hope, Absence of Data Raises Doubt

A COVID-19 vaccine—created by Moderna in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)—seems to initiate an immune response in a Phase 1 trial, giving hope to the possibility of an effective vaccine in the near future. Moderna released data on eight subjects who received two doses of the vaccine at 25 micrograms (mcg) and 100 mcg levels, and then developed antibodies similar to those who had recovered from COVID-19. The United States Food and Drug Administration has already approved the start of a Phase 2 trial, which will study two dose levels, 50 mcg and 100 mcg, with the goal of determining the most effective and prudent dose.

However, some experts note that the data provided by Moderna are not enough to generate excitement. From the small study sample to the NIAID’s relative silence on the subject to the fact that the Phase 1 trial showed the antibodies present at 2 weeks but not longer all make some scientists hesitant to jump on this vaccine’s bandwagon. The company expects to begin a Phase 3 efficacy trial in July. Read more here.