Vaccine against Covid-19 could be ready for use by the end of the year: US

The vaccine Moderna inc against Covid-19 could be ready for widespread use by the end of this year, US and company officials reported this Monday, after the company announced the start of a 30-person trial to demonstrate that it is safe and effective. the final hurdle before regulatory approval.

The trial is the first late-stage study of its kind under the US government's program to accelerate the development of anti-coronavirus measures., adding to the hope that an effective vaccine will help end the pandemic. Moderna shares rose 7.5%.

The US government is supporting Moderna's vaccine project with almost a billion dollars and has chosen it as one of the first to enter large-scale human trials.

There are more than 150 vaccine candidates in various stages of development, 23 of them in human trials phase around the world. Moderna and the British AstraZeneca Plc lead the race, since their projects are in advanced studies.

Although AstraZeneca indicated last week that it is still on track to produce doses by September, it is focusing, like other drugmakers, on delivering a fully tested vaccine by the end of the year at the earliest.

“Having a safe and effective vaccine that can be distributed by the end of 2020 is a difficult goal, but it is the right goal for the American people,” said the director of the National Institute of Health (NIH), Francis Collins, in a statement that announces the start of phase III of the study.

Pharmaceutical companies are increasing production while conducting tests to respond as soon as possible to the virus, which continues to spread rapidly throughout the world. Covid-19 has left almost 650 thousand dead worldwide and more than 16 million infected.

Moderna could have tens of millions of doses ready in case the vaccine is deemed safe and effective, Collins added in a virtual conference with reporters.

Moderna indicated that it plans to deliver about 500 million doses per year, and possibly up to 2021 billion doses per year starting in XNUMX. (rts)