Vials in the lab of Dr . Smita Iyer , an immunologist and assistant professor at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine , hold tissue samples for her COVID-19 vaccine research . ed anyone from getting sick . Haczku explains that the analysis of the study results is performed by the Data Safety and Monitoring Board , an independent body appointed for the clinical trial . ( All investigators , like those at UC Davis , are blinded in a study of this kind , meaning they don ’ t know whether their participants received the actual vaccine or a placebo . The DSMB , conversely , is unblinded and can therefore analyze interim results .)
Based on the first interim efficacy analysis of the trial conducted Nov . 8 , the DSMB found that there have only been 94 COVID-19 positives so far out of the more than 45,000 participants who eventually received the vaccine . Comparing these results to those of placebo recipients , they found that the vaccine was 90 percent effective in preventing the disease in participants who had not already contracted
COVID-19 . Haczku anticipates that based on these results , the FDA will approve the vaccine and an emergency-use authorization will soon be issued . Upon approval , UC Davis will likely be one of the distribution hubs because of its availability of freezer space ( the vaccine must be stored in specialized freezers that can reach minus 80 degrees to maintain efficacy ).
While the Pfizer study continues to demand time and attention , Haczku and her UC Davis colleagues are still working on other relevant research . Haczku is the principal investigator on a study that ’ s been going since April testing the VaxiPatch , a vaccine delivery system designed by biopharmaceutical company Verndari that could eventually be used for COVID-19 . And at the beginning of October , Haczku and Hartigan-O ’ Connor began collaborating on a study examining the role an innate immune molecule might play in fighting the novel coronavirus .
“ As we ’ re working toward a long-lasting and effective vaccine at UCD and elsewhere , people need to use every tool they have ,” Hartigan- O ’ Connor says . “ We ’ re going to have a vaccine , but those first candidates will need help from social distancing and masks for many months into the future , if not years . All of these different measures will need to work together .”
Jessica Laskey is a freelance writer based in Sacramento and Dallas . Her work has been published in Inside Publications , Sacramento Magazine , Sactown and The Sacramento Bee . She ’ s also the founding co-publisher of Indomita Press , an independent publishing company . Online at www . jessicalaskey . com .
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