NIH Clinical Trial of Vaccine for COVID-19 Begins

A phase 1 clinical trial evaluating an investigational vaccine designed to protect against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has begun at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI) in Seattle. NIAID is funding the trial. KPWHRI is part of NIAID’s Infectious Diseases Clinical Research Consortium. The open-label trial will enroll 45 healthy adult volunteers ages 18-55 years over approximately 6 weeks. The first participant received the investigational vaccine on Mar. 16.

The study is evaluating different doses of the experimental vaccine for safety and its ability to induce an immune response in participants. This is the first of multiple steps in the clinical trial process for evaluating the potential benefit of the vaccine.

The vaccine is called mRNA-1273 and was developed by NIAID scientists and their collaborators at Moderna, Inc., a biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Mass. The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations supported the manufacturing of the vaccine candidate for the phase 1 clinical trial.

“Finding a safe and effective vaccine to prevent infection with SARS-CoV-2 is an urgent public health priority,” said NIAID director Dr. Anthony Fauci. “This phase 1 study, launched in record speed, is an important first step toward achieving that goal.”