The CEO of Moderna, the first company to conduct large-scale human trials of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate in the US, says the firm will likely have enough data to announce in November whether its novel coronavirus vaccine is sufficiently effective for broader use.
CEO Stephane Bancel revealed during a Thursday interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that Moderna anticipates a “base plan for efficacy” to be released in November, as the company has been saying for “many months.”
“If the infection rate in the country were to slow down in the next weeks, it could potentially be pushed out in a worst-case scenario in December,” he added.
Bancel explained to CNBC that it is unlikely that Moderna will have enough data to make an accurate assertion about the vaccine’s efficacy by October.
The company has posted the study’s protocol online “to provide additional transparency.”
Robert Redfield, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), testified before a Senate Appropriations Committee panel earlier this week and argued that he expects limited COVID-19 vaccinations to begin in November or December.
US President Donald Trump countered the CDC director’s statement later that day, asserting that the medical expert was “confused” and had made a “mistake” about the vaccine timeline.
He clarified that he was not providing “official dates” and that results could come in “a week earlier” or “a week later,” during the week of the US presidential election.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
