US firm says coronavirus test working

A sign marks the headquarters of Moderna Therapeutics, which is developing a vaccine against coronavirus in Cambridge, Massachusetts on May 18, 2020. [Reuters]

A vaccine manufacturer is reporting preliminary data suggesting its Covid-19 (mRNA-1273) vaccine is safe, and appears to be eliciting in test subjects an immune response capable of preventing disease.

Volunteers who received Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine had positive early results, according to the biotech company, which has partnered with the US government’s National Institutes of Health to develop the vaccine.