U.S. Researchers Testing Coronavirus Vaccine on Volunteers in Seattle

Nick Kangadis | March 17, 2020
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In what could be some positive news about COVID-19, otherwise known as either the novel coronavirus or the Wuhan virus, the Associated Press (AP) is reporting that volunteers in the U.S. are aiding researchers in testing a possible vaccine.

According to the AP:

U.S. researchers gave the first shots in a first test of an experimental coronavirus vaccine Monday, leading off a worldwide hunt for protection even as the pandemic surges.

With careful jabs in the arms of four healthy volunteers, scientists at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Research Institute in Seattle began an anxiously awaited first-stage study of a potential COVID-19 vaccine developed in record time after the new virus exploded out of China and fanned out across the globe.

Jennifer Haller, a 43-year-old mother from Seattle and the first test volunteer, commented that she’s just happy she might be able to do something to aid in the cure of this virus.

“We all feel so helpless,” Heller said. “This is an amazing opportunity for me to do something.”

Since it’s going to take a little time to fully understand whether the vaccine is boosting the immune systems of the volunteers or not, there’s no word on a timeline of when the vaccine would be available to the public should it be successful.

News of the testing of a possible vaccine in the U.S. comes just days after a Canadian company Medicago announced that it has produced a “virus-like particle of the novel coronavirus” that could be ready for human testing by “July or August.”

Here's video about the testing:

 

H/T: BBC

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