The Boston Globe : declared in US enrolls volunteers in large test of possible Zika vaccine

The NIH also is testing the safety of some more traditional Zika vaccine candidates, but the easier-to-make DNA vaccine was the first ready to advance to this second stage of human testing. All the volunteers will be tracked for nearly two years to see if the vaccine really protects against Zika infection. ''I'm totally intent on getting this vaccine to the point it can be a usable vaccine.'' But while Zika largely disappeared from the headlines this winter, mosquito season is fast approaching — and the risk persists internationally. WASHINGTON — US health officials have begun enrolling volunteers for critical next-stage testing of an experimental vaccine to protect against Zika, the mosquito-borne virus that can cause devastating birth defects in pregnant women.

US enrolls volunteers in large test of possible Zika vaccine

The NIH also is testing the safety of some more traditional Zika vaccine candidates, but the easier-to-make DNA vaccine was the first ready to advance to this second stage of human testing. All the volunteers will be tracked for nearly two years to see if the vaccine really protects against Zika infection. "I'm totally intent on getting this vaccine to the point it can be a usable vaccine." U.S. health officials have begun enrolling volunteers for critical next-stage testing of an experimental vaccine to protect against Zika, the mosquito-borne virus that can cause devastating birth defects in pregnant women. In contrast, the DNA vaccine works through trickery: It's made with a circular piece of DNA carrying genes from the Zika virus that, once in the body, make particles that resemble Zika enough to alert the immune system but cannot cause infection.


Clinical trial volunteer Virginia Bliss took part in an early round of vaccine testing because of her 10-year-old daughter Suzanne. (Gillian Brockell,Jorge Ribas/The Washington Post)An experimental Zika vaccine has moved successfully into broader testing, with the first volunteer receiving a test dose in Houston earlier this week. Follow Crystal Woodley, a 33-year-old Baltimore resident, as she participates in an early round of clinical trials for a potential vaccine for the Zika virus. The experimental vaccine does not have any infectious material, so researchers say it can't cause a person to become infected with Zika. Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either the experimental vaccine or a placebo.


collected by :Lucy William
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