Ask the Rev. Doctor Maria: June 10, 2020
The Rev. Dr. Maria Evans is serving as the Interim Rector at Christ Church in Rolla. She is also a pathologist, board certified in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology, a laboratory medical director, and has served on hospital infection control committees for over 30 years.
During the coronavirus outbreak, The Rev. Dr. Maria is offering her expertise to help us understand and make our way through this unprecedented experience. If you have a question you'd like to ask The Rev. Dr. Maria, send an email to [email protected].
Where are we with developing a vaccine for COVID these days?
Right now, multiple laboratories around the world are in various stages of producing candidate vaccines. An optimistic estimate of one being available is early 2021, but if that happens, it will be record time for the development of a vaccine.
Very likely, there won't be "one" vaccine but several equally viable candidates once the first operational vaccine hits the world market. The problem, of course, is that each vaccine will have had to clear the safety/regulatory hurdles of each country in which it is used; for that reason alone, it's advantageous for us in the U.S. to have an American-made one early.
Some exciting recent news is a candidate vaccine produced by Moderna, in conjunction with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (Dr. Fauci's agency) is preparing to launch a Phase 3 trial of their vaccine in July. A Phase 3 trial is the final stage before potential approval, and involves several thousand participants. The plan is to enroll 30,000 individuals in this trial, mostly between ages 18-55, but also including older age groups.
Meanwhile, continue to pray for those dedicated individuals around the world who are trying to get vaccines out there in record time!
Faithfully,
The Rev. Dr. Maria Evans
who doubles as
Maria L. Evans, MD, FCAP, FASCP
Tags: News