UW Seeks Volunteers For New Coronavirus Vaccine Trial
SEATTLE — The University of Washington School of Medicine is looking to enroll up to 40 volunteers in a clinical trial for a new, second-generation coronavirus vaccine candidate developed by U.S.-based biotechnology company Gritstone.
The first stage of the study will measure safety and immune response at different dose levels in a two-part regimen, researchers said. The second part of the study will focus on doses with multiple SARS-CoV-2 proteins, building on the "spike protein" used in vaccines already approved for emergency use in the United States.
Researchers hope the findings will lead to a vaccine that bolsters protection against variants of concern, which can be more infectious and sometimes lead to more serious illness.
"We know that mutations in the Spike protein have led to the emerging variant strains of the COVID-19 virus," said Dr. Anna Wald, a UW professor and principal investigator of the trial. "We hope that the addition of multiple COVID-19 immune targets to our vaccines, in the second stage of our study, will broaden the immune response and include protection against emerging variant strains."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/uw-seeks-volunteers-for-new-coronavirus-vaccine-trial/ar-BB1frJwh
