Coronavirus vaccine by AstraZeneca has reached phase 3 clinical trials in the United States and is very close to the end of trials, President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday. Donald Trump also hoped that AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine will be approved for its use against the Covid-19 infection.
Donald Trump said, “I am pleased to announce that the AstraZeneca vaccine has reached phase three clinical trials. That’s joining another group of vaccines that are very close to the end, and hopefully, approval.”
AstraZeneca is one of the leaders in the race to develop a coronavirus vaccine against the Covid-19 infection that has affected millions across the world. Other companies that have coronavirus vaccines in phase 3 trials include Moderna Inc and Pfizer Inc.
Addressing the reporters at the White House, Donald Trump said the United States managed to reach this stage in the progress of a coronavirus vaccine in a few months when it would have otherwise taken months.
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“In the United States, we’re doing things that nobody thought would have been even possible. This is a process that would have taken, in some cases, years, and we did it in a matter of months,” Donald Trump said.
Donald Trump also said that America remains on track to deliver a coronavirus vaccine in “record time”. He said new coronavirus cases in the country have declined by 38 per cent.
“Over the last month, new cases in the United States have declined by 38 per cent. Last week, we announced a breakthrough in testing that will allow us to have over 150 million rapid, point-of-care tests. These tests return results in less than 15 minutes, and many will be deployed to nursing homes.”
Donald Trump said, “We’re focusing very strongly on nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other locations that serve high-risk populations. So we’re going to have the 15-minute, and less, tests, and we will have 150 million rapid point-of-care tests.”
The National Institute of Health (NIH) separately announced on Monday that phase 3 clinical trials of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine, known as AZD1222, will enroll approximately 30,000 adult volunteers at 80 sites in the US to see if the Covid-19 vaccine can prevent the infection.
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The UK-based global biopharmaceutical company, AstraZeneca, is leading the coronavirus vaccine trials as a regulatory sponsor.
“Safe and effective vaccines will be essential to meet the global need for widespread protection against coronavirus,” National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director Anthony S Fauci said, adding, “Positive results from preclinical research supported the rapid development of this coronavirus vaccine candidate, which has also showed promise in early-stage clinical trials.”
Oxford University’s Jenner Institute and Oxford Vaccine Group have developed AZD1222. The candidate coronavirus vaccine was licensed to AstraZeneca for further development.
The US has so far recorded 6,030,782 coronavirus cases and 183,596 fatalities — both the numbers highest in the world.
The phase 3 trial is being implemented as part of Operation Warp Speed, a multi-agency collaboration led by the US Health and Human Services, which aims at accelerating the development and manufacturing of medical countermeasures for the novel coronavirus and delivering 300 million doses of an effective vaccine by January 2021.