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Pfizer announces they’re closer to the COVID-19 vaccine

The CEO of Pfizer, Albert Bourla, revealed the progress of producing a coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine that is on track to be available to U.S. patients by the end of this year. Bourla disclosed that Pfizer should have key data from the late-stage trial to provide the FDA by the end of October.

Pfizer recently submitted a proposal to the FDA to expand its late-stage trial from 33,000 patients to nearly 44,000 patients and Pfizer is prepared to distribute thousands of doses if approved by the FDA. Bourla explains that Pfizer could start distributing the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of this year if the vaccine is deemed safe and effective.

U.S. health officials and pharmaceutical companies have worked to accelerate the development of vaccine candidates through investing in multiple stages of research to find a safe and effective vaccine. Pfizer has worked closely with the German drugmaker, BioNTech, to fulfill an order placed by the U.S. government for 100 million doses with $1.95 billion in funding.

This billion-dollar deal was apart of Operation Warp Speed in efforts to accelerate the production and development of treatments to combat COVID-19. The FDA is feeling pressure from the Trump Administration under this order to fast-track the trials in an unprecedented procedure which leaves concern about releasing a vaccine before being thoroughly tested.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recently proposed a distribution plan for the vaccine in the U.S. once approved for public use. The CDC and National Institutes of Health also requested the report to ensure the best distribution plan.