Emory To Vaccinate Hundreds Of Volunteers During COVID 19 Trial

ATLANTA, GA — Emory University started administering an experimental COVID-19 vaccine earlier this week as part of a national clinical trial the school is participating in.

It has entered Phase 3 of the trial. Emory said in a news release that the first doses of the vaccine were given to volunteers at its Hope Clinic of Emory Vaccine Center. Hundreds of volunteers for the trial, 18 and older, will eventually be given the vaccine, said the school.

The vaccine, known as mRNA-1273, was co-developed by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the biotech company Moderna.

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Emory administered the experimental vaccine to 17 people earlier this year as part of Phase 1 of the trial, during which the vaccine was "generally well tolerated" by the volunteers and "generated an immune response" from them.

This larger phase of the study will be conducted at more than 80 sites nationwide, with nearly 30,000 volunteers.

"Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either the tested vaccine or placebo, given in two injections spaced 28 days apart," a release said.

It added that participants will be monitored for safety through regular clinic visits and they'll be tested for over two years to see who eventually becomes infected with COVID.

“As the death toll from this pandemic continues to rise, it becomes even more urgent that we find a safe and effective vaccine to prevent COVID-19," Evan Anderson, the principal investigator in the Emory trial, said. "Having this trial take place at Emory gives Atlanta-area residents the opportunity to participate in a study that, if successful, has the potential to help stem the tide of this disease.”

Those interested in participating in the trial at Emory may volunteer through the following:

• COVID-19 Prevention Network

• Emory Vaccine Center Hope Clinic:

• Emory Children's Center (email)

• Ponce Center (email)