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COVID-19 Vaccine Is Successful in Lab Trial — New Study
New research suggests we may be one step closer to coronavirus immunization
A new pre-publication study released April 19 from Sinovac Biotech demonstrates that their COVID-19 vaccine is effective at protecting monkeys from coronavirus. Macaque monkeys received three injection of a novel vaccine at medium or high dosage, and were compared to control monkeys that received a placebo vaccine. These monkeys were then exposed to COVID-19 after 22 days. Monkeys that received the vaccine showed almost no signs of the virus, while the control monkeys developed the severe pneumonia and other coronavirus symptoms.
Vaccines operate by training the immune system to recognize a disease-causing agent, so that immune system will be equipped to defend against the invader if it infects the body. The body naturally develops antibodies to foreign agents it encounters, so a vaccine aims to introduce a harmless version of a virus to a person, allowing the immune system to develop the appropriate antibodies.
There are several ways vaccines operate to achieve immunization. A modern approach to vaccines uses only a piece of the virus, since the body doesn’t need to recognize the entire virus to develop an immune response. Vaccines of this nature can be easier to mass…
