The army’s own vaccine that could fight COVID variants is starting clinical trials

A single vaccine produced by the Walter Reed Army Research Institute began clinical testing on Tuesday, and army researchers hope to fight SARS-COV-2, the new coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

The vaccine, called the ferritin spike nanoparticle, or SpFN, could also help fight other coronaviruses, a group of related RNA viruses that often cause airway-related diseases in mammals.

Army researchers have been looking at the threat posed by new coronaviruses just before the pandemic, according to Kayvon Modjarrad, Walter Reed’s director of emerging infectious diseases. This threat has accelerated in recent years.

“That’s why we need such a vaccine: one that has the potential to widely and proactively protect against multiple coronavirus species and strains,” Modjarrad said in a statement announcing SpFN testing.

The Department of Defense had a total of over 271,000 COVID-19 cases. Of these, 3,814 people were hospitalized and 332 died. Twenty-four dead were members of the service and 11 were in maintenance.

The vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna have been approved under an emergency use authorization by the US Food and Drug Administration and are available to troops.

The Pentagon has made force vaccination a matter of preparation so that military operations can return to pre-pandemic norms. Although there have been some problems in lobbying troops to get the voluntary vaccine in time, vaccination rates appear to be rising in recent weeks.

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“The more people who get vaccinated as soon as possible, the lower the level of virus transmission, which gives them fewer opportunities to move further,” said Dr. Steven Cersovsky, deputy director of the Center for Public Health. of the Army at the end of February.

New variants of COVID-19 have appeared in South Africa and the United Kingdom. But military medical staff hope the current vaccines can fight these new strains. But if there are problems, Walter Reed’s vaccine may be appropriate.

“We designed and positioned this platform as the next generation vaccine, one that paves the way for a universal vaccine that protects not only the current virus but also counteracts future variants, stopping them before they can cause a another pandemic, ”Modjarrad said.

Preclinical studies have shown that SpFN induces very strong antibody responses in patients, reducing the virus that causes COVID-19 infection, as well as three major variants of SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV-1 virus.

The Phase 1 study is being conducted at the Walter Reed Center for Clinical Trials and will enroll 72 healthy adult volunteers between the ages of 18 and 55. Participants will be randomly placed in placebo or experimental groups.

The SpFN clinical trial is sponsored by the US Army Medical Research and Development Command.

The vaccine was developed by the Walter Reed Army Research Institute with the support of the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc.