‘Don’t feel like a guinea pig:’ New COVID-19 vaccine is safe, effective

It may seem that the COVID-19 vaccine came from out of nowhere, but it actually underwent the same rigorous testing that all vaccines do. It’s safe. It’s effective. And it represents a huge step toward making life feel normal again, according to one West Virginia University vaccine expert.

In fact, the development of COVID-19 vaccines did not begin at the onset of the pandemic itself. Scientists have researched vaccines over the years for related coronaviruses, such as SARS and MERS, and the timing and effort have now fallen into place.

“With the technology that we have right now, we were able to create this vaccine faster, but this vaccine went through the same testing phases as any other vaccine that was developed before,” said Ivan Martinez, an associate professor in the WVU School of Medicine and Cancer Institute.

Read the full story from West Virginia University here.