Page 14 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, July 31, 2020 Moderna begins third phase of study for COVID-19 vaccine C AMBRIDGE -- Moderna, Inc. recently announced that the Phase 3 study of its mRNA vaccine candidate (mRNA-1273) against COVID-19 has begun dosing participants. The Phase 3 study, which is called the Coronavirus Effi cacy (COVE) study, is being conducted in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), which is part of the Offi ce of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “We are pleased to have started the Phase 3 COVE study,” said Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel. “We are grateful to the eff orts of so many inside and outside the company to get us to this important milestone. We are indebted to the participants and investigators who now begin the work of the COVE study itself. We look forward to this trial demonstrating the potential of our vaccine to prevent COVID-19, so that we can defeat this pandemic.” The Phase 3 study protocol follows the guidance of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on clinical trial design for COVID-19 vaccine studies. The randomized, placebo-controlled trial is expected to include approximately 30,000 U.S. participants testing an mRNA-1273 dosage of 100 µg. The primary endpoint will be the prevention of symptomatic COVID-19 disease. Key secondary endpoints include prevention of severe COVID-19 disease (as defi ned by the need for hospitalization) and prevention of infection by SARSCoV-2 regardless of symptomology. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID-19. The primary effi cacy analysis of the Phase 3 study will be an event-driven analysis based on the number of participants avvya yavvy eniioor iorn or vv with symptomatic COVID-19 disease. To ensure the safety of the participants in the trial, data will be reviewed by an independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board organized by NIAID throughout the study. The clinicaltrials.gov identifi er is NCT04470427. Moderna is working closely with BARDA and the NIH, including NIAID’s COVID-19 Prevention Network (CoVPN), to conduct the Phase 3 COVE study under the auspices of Operation Warp Speed. Moderna also is collaborating with longstanding partner PPD (Nasdaq: PPD), a leading global contract research organization providing comprehensive, integrated drug development, laboratory and lifecycle management services. PPD supported the Phase 2 study for Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine program, which completed the enrollment of 600 subjects at eight research sites within a month. PPD has contributed an array of clinical development and laboratory services, including strategic expertise to the study design, patient-enrollment epidemiology modeling and biostatistics. With its collaborators, ModJuly 24, 1944: Admiral Charles W. Nimitz decorates 18 officers and men of the United States undersea fleet including chief electricians mate William H. Holland of Everett. July 25, 2014: Myriam Saint Germain of Everett, a mother of two and Harvard University health assistant, was gunned down outside Haiti’s main airport. She was shot by gunmen who took her money and valuables. July 27, 1893: The body of Miss Ethel Case was recovered in a Chicago lake. Miss Case had fallen into the lake when a yacht on which she was a passenger was upset during the World’s Fair. July 30, 1948: Closing of the furnace at Mystic Furnace in Everett creates a shortage of pig iron for approximately 225 foundries in the New England area. This weekly series in The Everett Advocate is published with permission from a book written by retired Everett City Clerk Michael Matarazzo. Enjoy! Weekly Series brought to you by F.J. LaRovere Insurance Agency 492 Broadway, Everett * 617-387-9700 Check out our new website: www.larovere.com erna has selected nearly 100 clinical research sites with representative demography and is partnering closely with those sites to ensure that volunteers at increased risk for COVID-19 disease are enrolled in the study. The clinical research sites, with the support of Moderna, are working within their local communities to reach a diverse population. Working together with collaborators, Moderna hopes to achieve a shared goal that the participants in the COVE study are representative of the communities at highest risk for COVID-19 and of our diverse society. Moderna remains on track to be able to deliver approximately 500 million doses per year, and possibly up to one billion doses per year, beginning in 2021 because of Moderna’s internal U.S. manufacturing capabilities and strategic collaboration with Lonza, Ltd. In addition, Moderna recently announced a collaboration with Catalent, Inc. for large-scale, commercial fi ll-fi nish manufacturing of mRNA1273 at Catalent’s biologics facility for the United States, and with ROVI of Spain for fi ll-fi nish manufacturing outside the United States. io iori by Jim Miller What Happens if You Die Without a Will? Dear Savvy Senior, What happens to a person’s possessions if they die without a will? I’m almost 60 years old and have never gotten around to making one, but the coronavirus crisis has made it a priority. Will-less Willie Dear Willie, The coronavirus crisis has lit a fi re under many Americans when it comes to getting their aff airs in older. Currently, fewer than half of American adults have prepared a will or living trust. If you die without a will, the state you reside in will determine what happens to your assets. Every state has intestacy laws in place that parcel out property and assets to a deceased person’s closest living relatives when there’s no will or trust in place. But these laws vary from state-to-state. Here is a general breakdown of what can happen to a person’s assets, depending on whom they leave behind. Married with children: When a married person with children dies without a will, all property, investments and fi nancial accounts that are “jointly owned” automatically goes to the surviving co-owner without going through probate, which is the legal process that distributes a deceased person’s assets. But for all other separately owned property or individual fi - nancial accounts, the laws of most states award one-third to one-half to the surviving spouse, while the rest goes to the children. Married with no children or grandchildren: Some states award the entire estate to the surviving spouse, or everything up to a certain amount (for example the fi rst $100,000). But many other states award only one-third to one-half of the decedent’s separately owned assets to the surviving spouse, with the remainder generally going to the deceased person’s parents, or if the parents are dead, to brothers and sisters. Jointly owned property, investments, fi nancial accounts, or community property automatically goes to the surviving co-owner. Single with children: All state laws provide that the entire estate goes to the children, in equal shares. If an adult child of the decedent has died, then that child’s children (the decedent’s grandchildren) split their parent’s share. Single with no children or grandchildren: In this situation, most state laws favor the deceased person’s parents. If both parents are deceased, many states divide the property among the brothers and sisters, or if they are not living, their children (your nieces and nephews). If there are none of them, it goes to the next of kin, and if there is no living family, the state takes it. Make a Will To ensure your assets go to those you want to receive them, you need to create a will or trust. If you have a simple estate and an uncomplicated family situation, there are do-it-yourself resources that can help you create all these documents for very little money. ome top-rated options include the Quicken WillMaker & Trust 2020 downloadable software (available at nolo.com) that costs $90 and works with Windows and Macs and is valid in every state except Louisiana; LegalZoom (legalzoom.com), which off ers basic wills for $89 or $99 if you’d like assistance from an independent attorney; and Trust & Will (trustandwill. com) which charges $89 for a basic will. If, however, you want or need assistance or if you have a complicated fi nancial situation, blended family or have considerable assets, you should hire an attorney. An experienced attorney can make sure you cover all your bases, which can help avoid family confusion and squabbles after you’re gone. Costs will vary depending on where you live, but you can expect to pay anywhere between $200 and $1,000 for a will. The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (naela.org) and the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (actec. org) websites are good resources that have directories to help you fi nd someone in your area. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.
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