The US military will begin testing a military-developed Covid-19 vaccine among adult volunteers, which researchers say could protect against a variety of coronavirus variants.
Army doctors plan to begin a protein test in 72 adults between the ages of 18 and 55 at the Walter Reed Army Research Institute in Silver Spring, MD, on Tuesday, the institute said. The team will test whether the vaccine safely induces the desired immune response in the subjects studied.
The initial results of the study could become available by mid-summer. If the data is positive, the military would likely try to join a drug company to test and further develop the vaccine, said Kayvon Modjarrad, director of the institute’s emerging infectious diseases branch.
The experimental plan is among dozens being developed, many aiming to improve the available photographs. According to BioCentury, which is monitoring the efforts, about 229 human vaccine studies are underway.
Army researchers say their vaccine has been protective in studies of monkeys exposed to coronavirus.