JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Months after people have received their first, second, even booster shots of a COVID-19 vaccine, there’s a new vaccine about to be on the market.
This vaccine uses the same science that the flu shot does.
Dr. Shalika Katugaha with Baptist Health hopes the familiar technology will encourage vaccine skeptics to finally get their shot. While COVID-19 trends are heading downward, she says getting vaccinated is just going to help that and get us back to a normal way of life.
"This year gives me hope," Katugaha said. "Everything about this year gives me hope."
Those are some words we haven’t heard from a scientist in a while, spurred by a new vaccine called Vidprevtyn by the company Sanofi and GSK. Their phase 3 trial data was released.
Katugaha says about 10,000 people across the U.S., Asia, Europe and Latin America were a part of the trial, which showed 100% efficacy of preventing severe coronavirus and 78% at preventing moderate to severe.
She says it’s not too late for a new vaccine because COVID-19 is always changing.
“You will see (vaccines) continue to evolve. The epidemiology of COVID-19 is evolving," Katugaha said. "One of the benefits this vaccine actually is that it was tested in the time of omicron. The testing was done from May to now. So it got a variety of variants.”
Katugaha says the next step would be for the company to submit their data to the FDA for approval. She doesn’t have a timeline on that, but phase 3 continues to have more people rolling up their sleeves for the newest vaccine.
That includes here on the First Coast.
“It’s colder than any place on the planet," says Dr. Michael Koren with Jacksonville Center for Clinical Research.
He showed me the negative 78.6 degrees Celsius fridge, which is negative 109.4 degrees Fahrenheit, that holds some COVID-19 vaccines.
Vidprevtyn only has to be stored in a normal fridge, which Koren says makes it more accessible.
As for why we need another vaccine, "Choices are always good. It’ll bring down prices and gives people different options. If you are allergic to one, you can use another," Koren said.
He is recruiting a couple hundred patients for this vaccine trial in Fleming Island.
Scientists also hope this vaccine will also recruit skeptics.
“Some people are still skeptical about the RNA because it’s – they consider it a type of genetic material even though I tell people it is not DNA," Koren says about other vaccines.
This vaccine is protein-based and similar to the flu shot.
"Individuals who have been holding out or who have been uncomfortable because of the mRNA technology well then here we have another viable exciting option that they might feel more comfortable getting," Katugaha said.
The CDC reports 65.8% of Americans are fully vaccinated.