The FDA Has Approved a Coronavirus Vaccine for Phase Two Trial

[DrToast]

The Food and Drug Administration has given Moderna the green light to enter into phase two of trials with its vaccine against the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, in what the Boston biotech firm called a “crucial step forward.”

Phase two will include 600 patients and is planned to begin “shortly,” the company said in a press release Thursday. It is also gearing up for phase three, “which is expected to begin in the early summer of 2020.” That puts Moderna on target to make the vaccine available “as soon as 2021,” it said. But manufacturing would begin sooner. Last week, Moderna’s CEO told CNBC that that firm would start building its stockpile of the vaccine as soon as July.

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/05/modernas-coronavirus-vaccine-approved-for-phase-2-trial.html

Some good news. If you'd like to learn more about this vaccine, here is an interview with Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, the lead scientist at the NIH working on this.

Link to tweet

[MontanaMama]

1. I want to get excited about this...

if this is effective it’ll be the fastest we’ve developed vaccine ever.

[DrToast]

2. Some differences

We had a headstart because of the original SARS. So it's not like we're starting from scratch. This vaccine has really been in development for years.

[Ollie Garkie]

3. I hope...

The cost is reasonable or some sort of provision is made for everybody to get it.

[DrToast]

4. The CARES Act

The CARES act required insurers to cover COVID-19 vaccines with no cost sharing.

There may have also been provisions for those without insurance, but I just don't know about how it works.