Alex Azar on COVID-19 vaccine: Is a 'October surprise' in store?
HHS Secretary Alex Azar discusses if coronavirus treatment news will be revealed in the coming days
The Trump administration is pushing for a coronavirus vaccine as quickly as possible, HHS Secretary Alex Azar said on Monday.
“We continue aggressively to work on contracting to bring monoclonal antibodies and convalescent plasma to people as additional therapies on top of the Remdesivir that President Trump has already gotten us and steroid treatments for people who with lung disease,” Azar told "Fox & Friends."
Azar said that he and Trump will travel to the Research Triangle in North Carolina on Monday.
“He’s going to get to see one of the five vaccines that we have invested in. Get to see how those are manufactured -- it’s incredibly complex. I’m excited to go with him,” Azar said.
MODERNA GETS FURTHER $472M US AWARD FOR CORONAVIRUS VACCINE DEVELOPMENT
Massachusetts biotech company Moderna launched Phase 3 of its coronavirus vaccine trial on Monday.
Moderna anticipates enrolling 30,000 U.S. participants.
There's still no guarantee that the experimental vaccine, developed by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna, will really protect the participants.
The needed proof: Volunteers won’t know if they’re getting the real shot or a dummy version. After two doses, scientists will closely track which group experiences more infections as they go about their daily routines, especially in areas where the virus still is spreading unchecked.
Moderna is working with the NIH and Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority to develop its vaccine as part of Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration's effort to pinpoint and accelerate the most effective coronavirus vaccines.
The drugmaker announced Sunday it was awarded $472 million more via BARDA to help develop its potential vaccine.
Moderna's stock surged in mid-July following positive results from the company's Phase 1 study of its mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
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Azar said that the United States needs therapeutics and vaccines as quickly as possible.
“We’re working to basically shave every day off the development and manufacturing that we can do so. We’re going to make sure that any therapeutic or any vaccine is safe and defective up to the Food and Drug Administration’s gold standards.”
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