American Loses 7 Relatives to COVID-19, Volunteers for Oxford Vaccine Trials

(Photo: Pikist)

Jacob Serrano, 23, has lost seven family members to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, he decided to become the first American dosed in the final phase of the trials for the COVID-19 vaccine.

Serrano did not give any specifics as to which family members he has lost, but he mentioned that any risk to be part of the trial is worth it, no matter what it takes. Looking at the number of lives the world has lost, he does not want it to keep happening. He is making it a point to be part of the solution that helps stop the pandemic.

Over the weekend, Serrano and 31 others received either a placebo or the vaccine from Oxford University and its partner AstraZeneca. This is the third and final phase of the trial, where it focuses on whether the vaccine is effective at reducing or blocking COVID-19 symptoms on a large-scale.

Those who were dosed at Headlands Jem Research Institute in Lake Worth on Friday, August 28, will be monitored over the next few weeks to see who among them builds up an immune response to the virus.

Dr. Larry Bush, a lead principal investigator at the Florida site and an infectious disease specialist in Wellington told CBS News that the immune response in previous stages of the trial looks very encouraging.

Observing the results of the first and second phases of the trials, Bush noted that the vaccine shows that your body develops neutralizing antibodies to fight the coronavirus, and you get a T-cell response. The vaccine caused a 2-pronged immune reaction.

In the first 14 days, the body generates a T-cell response wherein white blood cells attack infected cells. Then, in the following 28 days, it provokes an antibody response. The earlier phases of the trial have exhibited signs that it is safe to use and has produced some strong immune results.

AstraZeneca announced that it enrolled 30,000 American volunteers to take part in Phase III of the clinical trial. Globally, more than 50,000 participants have been recruited to participate in the test. They are also planning to roll out phase three trials in Japan and Russia as well. The goal of the pharmaceutical giant is to see late-stage trial results in 2020.

The vaccine includes a genetically engineered virus that resembles the new coronavirus but doesn't cause infection.

The body's immune system is designed to recognize the virus and attack it once a person becomes infected.

AstraZeneca claims that its global manufacturing capacity is close to three billion doses and that the U.S. has already ordered 300 million doses. The U.K. has also pre-purchased another 100 million doses.

AstraZeneca, along with U.S. company Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech, could supply the first doses of its vaccine to the U.S. as soon as October once they have secured approval from U.S. regulators for the emergency use of the vaccine.

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