translated from Spanish: U.S. doubled funding for coronavirus vaccine

The U.S. government doubled funding to the Moderna lab for use in the coronavirus vaccine (COVID-19), which tomorrow will begin phase 3 with thousands of volunteers. This is $955 million, which will significantly expand the scope of the next stage.

Through an official statement, the laboratory explained that it modified its contract with the BARDA (Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority) to extend by $472 million the initial amount it would spend on the development of the mRNA-1273 vaccine, which enters its advanced stage.” Following discussions with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and consultations with Operation Warp Speed in recent months, the company has decided to run a third phase of the significantly larger clinical trial, leaving a gap in BARDA funding that will be closed thanks to this contract modification,” the text states. The pharmaceutical company announced that this Monday, July 27, begins the third phase of its trial led by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. At this time, 30,000 participants will randomly receive a dose of 100 micrograms of the drug or a dose of placebo to check whether it can “prevent Covid-19 symtomatic disease”, in addition to the “prevention” of infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes it, and serious cases.

Original source in Spanish