17 March 00:30 GMT — First vaccine clinical trials begin in the United States
The first phase I clinical trial for a potential COVID-19 vaccine has begun in Seattle, Washington.
Four adults, the first of 45 eventual participants, received their first doses of an experimental vaccine developed through a partnership between the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and Moderna, a biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. But although it is an important milestone, the phase I trial is just the beginning of a long process to test the drug’s safety and efficacy.