The US military will begin testing a Covid-19 vaccine developed by the military, which researchers say could protect against a variety of coronavirus variants.
Army doctors plan to begin testing the protein-based shot in as many as 72 adults aged 18 to 55 at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Silver Spring, MD on Tuesday, the institute said. The team will test whether the vaccine safely elicits the desired immune response in subjects.
The initial results of the study could be available by midsummer. If the data is positive, the military is likely to try to join a drug company to further test and develop the vaccine, said Kayvon Modjarrad, director of the institute’s emerging branch of infectious diseases.
The experimental shot is among the dozens in development, many aiming to improve the available shots. According to BioCentury, which is monitoring the efforts, there are about 229 trials of human vaccination underway.
Army researchers say their vaccine is protective in studies of monkeys exposed to the coronavirus.