NEJM: The experimental new coronavirus vaccine mRNA-1273 has good tolerance and can produce a strong immune response in the elderly.

Oct 6, 2020 /--- -- The new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in 2019, is now wreaking havoc around the world.
Phase 1 clinical trial of an experimental mRNA vaccine to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection has shown that it is well-to-do in older adults and produces a strong immune response.
study was recently published in the journal NEJM under the title "Safety and Immunogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA-1273 Vaccine in Older Adults".
clinical trial was supported by the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
images from New England Journal of Medicine, 2020, doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2028436.
the experimental vaccine, called mRNA-1273, was developed by researchers at NIAID and Moderna in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
phase 1 clinical trial began on March 16, 2020 and expanded to recruit older people about a month later.
are more likely to develop complications of COVID-19 in older adults and are important for vaccination.
understanding how the vaccine affects older people is a key part of measuring its safety and effectiveness.
in a clinical trial that expanded to include the elderly, the researchers recruited 40 healthy volunteers: 20 adults between the ages of 56 and 70 and 20 adults 71 and older.
10 volunteers in each age group received a lower dose of the vaccine (25?g) and 10 volunteers in each age group received a higher dose of the vaccine (100?g).
about a month after the test, the volunteers received a second dose of the same dose of the vaccine.
throughout the study, volunteers participated in clinic visits to track their response to the vaccine and assess safety.
, the researchers found that the experimental vaccine had good tolerance in this elderly population.
Although some volunteers experienced some short-lived adverse reactions after vaccination, including fever and fatigue, they also showed a good immune response to the vaccine: the blood of the volunteers who were vaccinated contained strong binding and meso-antibodies against SARS-CoV-2.
, older volunteers are immune to the vaccine on a similar level to that of younger groups.
the clinical study will continue to follow older volunteers for about a year after the second vaccination to monitor the long-term effectiveness of the vaccine.
the results of this Phase 1 clinical trial further support the experimental vaccine in testing older people in large Phase 3 clinical trials that are under way, according to the researchers.
(bioon.com) Reference: 1.Evan J. Anderson et al. Safety and Immunogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA-1273 Vaccine in Older Adults. New England Journal of Medicine, 2020, doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2028436.2.Investigational COVID-19 vaccine well-monthd, generates immune response in older adults.