The U.S. military will begin testing a military-developed Covid-19 vaccine among adult volunteers that researchers say can protect against a variety of coronavirus variants.
Army doctors plan to begin testing the protein-based shot on as many as 72 adults ages 18 to 55 at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Silver Spring, Maryland on Tuesday, the institute said. The team will test whether the vaccine safely induces the desired immune response in subjects.
The first results of the study could become available mid-summer. If the data is positive, the military would likely try to work with a pharmaceutical company to further test and develop the vaccine, said Kayvon Modjarrad, director of the institute’s emerging infectious diseases arm.
The experimental recording is one of dozens in development, many of which are aimed at improving available recordings. According to BioCentury, which is tracking the effort, 229 trials of human vaccines are underway.
Army researchers say their vaccine was protective in studies of monkeys exposed to the coronavirus.