NATIONWIDE -- There’s promising news Monday in the race to produce an effective coronavirus vaccine.

What You Need To Know


  • 8 volunteers produced antibodies with experimental coronavirus vaccine

  • Volunteers given low or medium dose of drug

  • High dose shown to produce short-term side effects

  • Comprehensive testing slated to begin in July

An experimental vaccine produced by the Cambridge, Massachusetts- based Moderna, Inc., has been shown to produce antibodies in healthy, middle-aged volunteers.

The antibodies produced are similar to those produced by the body when exposed to the virus.

So far those results have been limited to eight volunteers, each of whom received a low or medium dose of the vaccine. High doses of the drug produced short-term side effects, the Associated Press reported.

Researchers will next attempt to determine which dose is appropriate for a definitive experiment, which is slated to begin in July.

Experts have predicted it could take anywhere from a year to 18 months for a vaccine to be developed, and that may be optimistic. There’s also the issue of creating a supply chain in the U.S. and elsewhere capable of making the drug widely available.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.