President Donald Trump announced significant developments for the coronavirus vaccine candidates produced by the biopharmaceutical companies Moderna and Pfizer.
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 27: (Photo by Alex Wong / Getty Images)
Trump told reporters Monday in North Carolina that the Moderna candidate had already begun Phase 3 trials, conducted under the government’s Operation Warp Speed initiative, noting that “there has never been anything like this in terms of speed, not even close. ” He added that Pfizer, which has just won a nearly $ 2 billion Warp Speed contract, plans to begin Phase 3 trials for its vaccine candidate later this week. (RELATED: The FDA ‘Strain Rate’ Guide Says Coronavirus Vaccine Must Show 50% More Effectiveness Than Placebo Before Hitting The Market)
“We have cut years off the time it takes to develop a vaccine,” he continued. “We have done this while maintaining security.”
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The president, speaking at a Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies Innovation Center, further announced that his administration signed a $ 265 million contract with FujiFilm to “dramatically expand” vaccine production capabilities at the company’s facilities located at Texas A&M University .
In recent days, Trump has doubled himself in praising Warp Speed and the administration’s quest to produce hundreds of millions of doses of viable vaccines by the end of the year. The president declared last week that the administration would provide doses for public consumption free of charge.
Trump has also taken a more serious tone when asked about the masks’ ability to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
“We ask everyone when they cannot socially distance themselves to wear a mask,” Trump told reporters in the White House meeting room on July 21. “Whether they like the mask or not, they have an impact. They will have an effect and we need everything we can get.”
