How Close Are We? Four Vaccines Pull Ahead in the Race to Prevent COVID-19

Pharmaceutical companies worldwide are working around the clock to develop a vaccine that could be used by much of the world's population to prevent COVID-19. A whopping 70 potential vaccines have been developed.  

However, only four have progressed to the point of being tested in human clinical trials, two in the United States, one in the United Kingdom, and one in China. 

Philadelphia-based pharmaceutical company Inovio reports they are in their first phase of testing and that trials on humans began last week. 

Approximately 40 people will be tested during the initial phase at locations in Kansas City, Missouri, and at The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. The second phase of testing is expected in the near future. Final results from the tests are expected by the summer. 

Also in the United States, a different vaccine is being tested on humans in Seattle, Washington, and Atlanta, Georgia. This one was developed by the US National Institutes of Health in association with the pharmaceutical company Moderna.  Human trials began on March 16, 2020, less than two months after Chinese authorities shared the genetic sequence of the virus, making it the first vaccine to be tested on humans. The trial involves 45 healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 55

Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, human clinical trials began Thursday for a possible coronavirus vaccine. More than 500 healthy individuals between the ages of 18 and 55 are going to be taking part in the study. The vaccine candidate was developed by clinical research teams at the University of Oxford's Jenner Institute and Oxford Vaccine Group. The human trials are being financed largely by the government, which is reportedly giving $25 million to the research. The studies will take place in Oxford and Southampton with three future sites to be added. 

China also reportedly began testing two potential COVID-19 vaccines on humans. According to state-run media, the vaccines were developed by Sinovact Biotech and by the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products, which is an arm of the state-owned China National Pharmaceutical Group.  

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