The U.S. Army will begin testing an Army-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 injection Tuesday in up to 72 adults ages 18 to 55 at the Walter Reed Army Research Institute in Silver Spring, Maryland, the institute said. The team will test whether the vaccine safely induces the desired immune response in study subjects.
Initial results of the study could be available in mid-summer. If the data is positive, the Army will likely try to team up with a pharmaceutical company to conduct further testing and develop the vaccine, said Kayvon Modjarrad, director of the institute’s emerging infectious diseases branch.
The experimental shot is among dozens in development, many of which aim to improve the shots available. Some 229 human vaccine trials are underway, according to BioCentury, which is tracking the efforts.
Army researchers say their vaccine was protective in studies of monkeys that were exposed to the coronavirus.