Unfortunately, when it comes to Covid-19, we will be dealing with difficulties until we have a vaccine, that is the most important thing for us. We have never had this version of the virus before, so nobody has any immunity to it. Our bodies are defenseless against it. That is where the vaccine comes in, it builds antibodies in your immune system to fight that strain of the virus if you get infected by it. Up until now, it has always taken years and extensive testing to get a vaccine approved by the FDA. With this once in a lifetime occurrence of a novel corona virus, researchers around the world are working on more than 165 vaccines, and 27 of them are currently in human trials.

These scientists are pushing hard to produce a safe and effective vaccine by next year. The first of the vaccine safety trials got underway in March, but the future is unknown. Some trials will fail, and others may end with no clear results. But hopefully a few will succeed in stimulating the immune system to produce effective antibodies against the virus. If you would like to see the status and phases of some of the vaccines currently being tested The New York Times has a Coronavirus Vaccine Tracker that will provide that information.

One coronavirus vaccine has moved on to phase 3 trials, and folks here in Michigan will have an opportunity to take part in the study. Henry Ford Health System has been chosen as a trial site for the Modema mRNA-1273 Coronavirus Efficacy (COVE) vaccine study. They are currently enrolling volunteers into the randomized double-blind vaccine study of whether a two-dose vaccine prevents Covid-19 infection in people exposed to the virus. The plan is to enroll 30,000 volunteers nationwide. Mlive reports “Henry Ford Health System is proud to be part of the fight against this deadly virus,” reads a statement on the hospital’s website. “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.” Click here if you would like to apply as a volunteer for this Henry Ford vaccine trial.

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