FLICKR, NIAIDA Phase 2 clinical trial, evaluating a National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)-sponsored experimental DNA vaccine to protect against Zika virus infection, is underway, the agency announced last week (March 31). NIAID said it hopes to enroll at least 2,490 healthy volunteers in areas where the virus has been actively transmitted, including in parts of the U.S. (Houston, Miami, and San Juan, Puerto Rico).
According to STAT News, the first stage of the trial is underway at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. At this point, the trial organizers are enrolling 90 healthy volunteers, who will all receive the vaccine, to determine the best dosage. The organizers will not recruit pregnant women to join the study at this point, STAT reported.
“I’m totally intent on getting this vaccine to the point where it can be a usable vaccine,” NIAID Director Anthony Fauci told reporters during a press briefing (via STAT).
