Covid-19: Vaccine raises prospect of containment as U.S. targets mass production

The hope of containing the novel coronavirus has been raised by an investigational vaccine, mRNA-1273, developed by an American biotechnology company, Moderna, in partnership with the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The therapy was able to induce immune responses in all of the volunteers who received it in a first pre-trial.

The early results, published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Tuesday, showed that the vaccine triggered an immune response with mild side effects – fatigue, chills, headache, muscle pain, and pain at the injection site – becoming the first U.S. vaccine candidate to publish results in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

The vaccine is to undergo a third trial later this month before regulators decide on its availability or otherwise.

Moreso, the American government has announced its partnership with some drug makers to mass-produce a cure for virus.

The President Donald Trump government has granted over $1 billion to pharmaceuticals like Johnson & Johnson, Moderna Inc, AstraZeneca Plc, and Novavax Incorporated in this regard.

It had also earlier this month signed a $450 million contract with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Incorporated to make therapies available for patients.

The U.S. administration, which is working towards producing 300 million doses by the end of 2021, had equally financed the development of four COVID-19 projects through its Operation Warp programme.

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