The hunt for a successful Covid-19 vaccine has taken a major leap in Singapore — with our nation’s bold foray into human trials.
About 250 participants had initially volunteered as tribute, reports The Straits Times (ST) on Saturday (8 Aug).
We breakdown what we know of the virus & its vaccine search so far below.
According to ST, the vaccine will be named Lunar-Cov19, and is developed by:
However, only about 100 people – aged from their 20s to 50s – will partake in the first round, as early as “next week” — aka mid-August.
But before gawking in awe at their bravery, you’re probably wondering how the vaccine works.
A typical flu vaccine introduces a weakened strain of the virus to your body’s immune system, so it will be prepared to build enough antibodies to combat the actual virus.
But instead of the entire virus strain, the Lunar-Cov19 vaccine will only contain “fragments of genetic material” — aka the “spike protein”.
This will warrant an immune response within the body that’s hopefully enough to combat the strain — without full exposure to Covid-19.
Screening is ongoing for people who have signed up for the trial — expected to end in Oct 2020.
For interested participants, SingHealth continues to seek volunteers aged 21 to 80 years old, to facilitate testing for the efficacy of the vaccine on older patients.
More information on how to place yourself on the database & other clinical trials here.
To the brave volunteers who are participating in clinical trials, our nation wishes you the best of luck in your endeavours.
With Singapore’s birthday right around the corner, a wonderful gift would definitely be progress towards a stable way to curb the spread of Covid-19 in our communities.
Until then, we continue to anticipate the day that things will resume normalcy once again.
Featured image adapted from Google Maps.
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