HENRY FORD HEALTH SYSTEM: Henry Ford Health System Only Michigan Site to Offer Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Trial

By Press release submission

Aug 4, 2020

Henry Ford Health System issued the following announcement on July 28.

30,000 Volunteer Spots Available Across the United States

Henry Ford Health System is the only hospital system in Michigan chosen as a Phase 3 trial site for the Moderna mRNA-1273 Coronavirus Efficacy (COVE) vaccine study, the National Institutes of Health announced Monday.

Henry Ford is enrolling volunteers into this randomized double-blind study of whether a two-dose vaccine prevents COVID-19 infection in those exposed to the coronavirus. About 90 healthcare systems across the United States are working competitively to enroll a total of 30,000 volunteers to participate. The study will close to volunteers once 30,000 people are enrolled, so signing up at www.HenryFord.com/ModernaVaccine quickly is crucial.

“Henry Ford Health System is proud to be part of the fight against this deadly virus,” said Dr. Adnan Munkarah, Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer of Henry Ford Health System. “As one of the region’s major academic medical centers with more than $100 million in annual research funding, Henry Ford is involved in numerous COVID-19 efforts with partners around the world.”

The study’s first two phases found the vaccine to be safe and produce antibodies; Phase 3 will determine whether it provides any protective benefit.

“Our best hope of controlling COVID-19 is with a vaccine,” said Dr. Marcus Zervos, Division Chief of Infectious Disease for Henry Ford Health System. “The Moderna vaccine seems to be very promising. In the initial studies that have been done so far, it looks to be safe and has produced protective antibodies at the level of a natural infection.”

Typical vaccines for viruses are made from a weakened or inactive virus, but the mRNA-1273 study vaccine is not made from the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It is made from messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA), a genetic code that tells cells how to make protein. In this case, the protein is a small part of the virus that is thought to help the body’s immune system make antibodies to fight the virus. However, people may still become infected with SARS-CoV-2 in their everyday activities, despite receiving the study’s two shots.

Original source can be found here.