The race to find a vaccine against COVID-19 has been going on since the beginning of the year. Several different vaccine candidates are under development and being tested in different ways. Now, the first trial that has undergone a peer review has shown that a vaccine candidate produces antibodies to the virus.
Many previous trials that have shown promising results have been difficult to verify. Sometimes details about the experiments have been missing, often they have been performed on animals. What distinguishes this experiment is that it passed through review before publication and that it was performed on humans. The study included 45 adults, aged 18-55 years.
The study shows that the vaccine seems to provide better protection than just undergoing the disease, which is good news for the development of vaccines. This shows that vaccines should work to stop COVID-19 and that they may not be as far away as feared.
Like all vaccines, there are some side effects in some individuals in the study. These include chills, fatigue, headaches and muscle aches. However, all were transient.
So far, it is too early to say that the vaccine is definitely the answer to the virus and the question of course remains how strong the protection is and how long it lasts. However, the results are promising.
Photo by Vincent Ghilione on Unsplash
