U.S. Coronavirus Vaccine Shows Hoped-For Results, Ready For Final Testing

WASHINGTON –The first coronavirus vaccine tested in the U.S, developed by Moderna Inc. and the National Institutes of Health, has shown hoped-for results and is now ready for key final testing, the most important step to determine if it’s effective and safe, in about two weeks. Researchers reported Tuesday (July 14th) that the first 45 volunteers who were injected with the experimental vaccine developed antibodies at levels comparable to people who’d survived a case of COVID-19. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, told AP, “No matter how you slice this, this is good news.” It’s hoped that results of the final testing will be available by the end of the year. 

Meanwhile, Florida passed its daily record for coronavirus deaths yesterday, reporting 132 and raising the state’s seven-day average to 81 deaths per day, more than double what it was two weeks ago, and bringing it to the second-highest in the U.S., behind only Texas. In Arizona, another coronavirus hot spot, the state reported a record number of hospitalized coronavirus patients, 3,517, and an additional 92 deaths. There have been more than 136,400 deaths in the U.S. as of early this morning, according to Johns Hopkins University’s count, and more than 3,431,000 confirmed cases.

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