We were encouraged to learn thatDr. Patrick Soon-Shiongs COVID-19 vaccine is ready for clinical trials.

Soon-Shiong, whosenonprofit Chan Soon-Shiong NantHealth Foundation isthe umbrella for both Chan-Soon Shiong Medical Center at Windber and the Chan Soon-Shiong Institute for Molecular Medicine at Windber,shared the news recently on Fox Business News.

As our Randy Griffith reported, his NantKwest vaccineisamong 14 candidates being evaluated as part of Operation Warp Speed,a federal government initiative that aims to deliver 300 million doses of safe and effective COVID-19 immunizations by January.The Department of Health and Human Services says thegovernment expects to select about seven of the candidates for further study.

Im really hopeful that our government will support my being able to develop billions of doses, Soon-Shiong said on Fox Business News.

That would be welcome news, as COVID-19 cases have surged lately.

While the race is on to find a vaccine for the virus that has killed more than 500,000 people worldwide, experts cautionnot to set expectations too high.

Weve been burned before,Dr. Anthony Fauci, of the National Institutes of Health, told The Associated Press.This isnt a race of who gets there first. This is, get as many approved, safe and effective vaccines as you possibly can.

Researchers in Britain and China are already testing potential inoculations and,according to the AP, the U.S. is opening the largest trials 30,000 peoplethis month with 30,000 to test a British one about a month later. Fauci saidthey willlikely be divided among Americans and volunteers in other countries.

Soon-Shiong said his vaccine originated through his cancer research. He told Contagion,amedical news site, that the coronavirus acts like cancer because it finds receptors on human cells that allow the virus cells to invade and change the makeup of the cells.It integrates and replicates just like cancer metastasizes, he said in a ContagionLive video.

TheNantKwest vaccine helps the body develop antibodiesand T cells, which playa key role in the immune system. He believeshis is the only vaccine in development that includes the T cell strategy.

Its a very sophisticated approach of not just throwing things at a wall and seeing what sticks, Soon-Shiong said inthe video. In the long run, we need to find out through clinical trials. Thats where we are now.

We wishSoon-Shiong and other researchers luckin theirrace to develop a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine.

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Editorial | Race is on to develop COVID vaccine - TribDem.com