NIAID Director Anthony Fauci Holds Discussion On Zika Outbreak (Photo : Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) have announced that the government has started testing an experimental vaccine to prevent Zika. Hundreds of pregnant women living near downtown Miami are getting tested in fear of the virus' effect on newborn babies.
The early-stage study, which will be done to at least 80 volunteers, will determine the safety and ability of the vaccine to create an immune system response. The volunteers' ages are from 18-35. Dr. Jon LaPook, CBS News chief medical correspondent said that it will be a very big deal if the vaccine works.
A few days ago, the Florida health officials have confirmed the first locally transmitted Zika infection in the mainland US. At least 15 people are now infected with the virus mainly in Wynwood neighborhood in Miami-Dade County.
"A safe and effective vaccine to prevent Zika virus infection and the devastating birth defects it causes is a public health imperative," said NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. He also said that NIAID worked expeditiously to prepare a vaccine candidate, and they have received very encouraging results from animal testing.
They are also pleased that they can now proceed with this first study in humans. However, he added that it will take some time before a Zika vaccine is commercially available and the launch of the study is an important step forward.
The study began on Tuesday at three locations: the University of Maryland in Baltimore; Emory University in Atlanta; and NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Md. The vaccine is similar to the experimental West Nile Virus vaccine which NIH have developed, but not yet approved. All of the 80 volunteers will get a different dosage of the vaccine and none will get placebos, USA Today reported.
If the test is successful, the NIH vaccine would ideally be given to women and teens that are capable of bearing a child and their sexual partners. While Zika is mainly spread by Aedes mosquitoes, it can also be sexually transmitted.
According to Fauci, while the first study "is a go," another concern is about running out of money to launch a larger study in 2017. The Congress was asked by President Obama to approve $1.9 billion in emergency money for Zika in February, but the lawmakers have not been able to agree on a funding package.
