The US COVID-19 vaccine program will begin manufacturing in late summer, says a US official.

(Reuters) – Drug makers associated with the United States government are on track to begin actively manufacturing a vaccine for COVID-19 by the end of the summer, a senior administration official said Monday.

“If you say exactly when the vaccine materials will literally be in production and manufacturing, it will likely be four to six weeks away, but we will be actively manufacturing in late summer,” said the official, who declined to be identified by name. , said.

He added that the administration is already working with companies to equip and equip manufacturing facilities and acquire raw materials.

The Trump administration has helped fund the development of four COVID-19 vaccines so far through its Warp Operation Speed ​​Program, which aims to produce 300 million doses of the vaccine by the end of 2021.

The United States government has awarded grants ranging from several hundred million dollars to more than $ 1 billion to Johnson & Johnson, Moderna Inc, AstraZeneca Plc and Novovax Inc.

He also signed a $ 450 million contract earlier this month with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc to help him provide therapies for patients who are sick with the virus.

Clinical trials for therapeutics can produce results in a matter of weeks, making it possible to produce hundreds of thousands of doses in the fall, the senior administration official said.

“While we believe it is fair to say that the progress of the vaccine is occurring at a rate of warp speed, faster than any vaccine that has been developed in history, the therapy is even faster,” the official said.

The “list is not closed” for additional financing deals and the administration plans to announce more in the future, the official said.

The new coronavirus has infected more than 3 million people in the United States and has killed more than 130,000.