A massive US study of another COVID-19 vaccine candidate kicked off Monday as states continue to distribute meager supplies of the first vaccines in a country anxiously waiting to get rid of the catastrophic outbreak.
Public health experts say that in addition to the two vaccines currently being distributed – one made by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech, and the other by Moderna – having more options to deliver enough vaccines to the country and the world is crucial.
The Novavax Inc. created candidate is the fifth to reach the final phase of clinical trials in the United States. About 30,000 volunteers are needed to demonstrate whether the vaccine really works and is safe.
“If you want to have enough vaccines to vaccinate everyone in the United States you want to vaccinate – up to 85% or more of the population – then you need more than two companies,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Associated Press, Monday against The Associated Press. America’s foremost infectious disease specialist.
Worldwide, about 1.8 million deaths are attributed to the novel coronavirus, including more than 330,000 in the United States. According to the COVID Tracking Project, this was the deadliest month of the outbreak in the United States so far, with about 65,000 dead in December so far. The country has registered more than 3,000 deaths per day in recent weeks.
And the United States could endure a terrible winter: Despite warnings to stay home and avoid others during the Christmas season, nearly 1.3 million people passed through the country’s airports on Sunday, most of it in one day. since the crisis descended in the country nine months ago.
The Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed expects to ship 20 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to states by early January, less than originally planned, much to the frustration of states and health officials. plan vaccination.
There is no real-time monitoring of how quickly people are getting the first of the two necessary doses. As of Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had reports of more than 2.1 million vaccinations out of the 11.4 million doses sent, but the agency knows the estimate is not. updated.
Reports from vaccine suppliers can take days to arrive and be posted on the site.