COVID-19 vaccine trial blueprints revealed by Moderna, Pfizer amid calls for transparency

One of the leading biotech companies in the race for developing COVID-19 vaccine, US’ Moderna reportedly became the first firm to publish the complete blueprints of its clinical trials amid growing calls for transparency followed by Pfizer. Moderna is one of the nine companies with their COVID-19 vaccine candidate in the late stages of the clinical trials while the novel coronavirus outbreak has continued to tighten its grip across the globe. Another US-based pharmaceutical firm, Pfizer which is also carrying out the Phase 3 trials in America reportedly conformed to similar move shortly after, leading to mounting pressure on the remaining companies to do the same. 

While the race for acquiring a safe and efficient vaccine to the COVID-19 has grown more intense and political, many leading companies have promoted their own candidates, some of which have even reached the Phase 3 or the final stage before the approval of the vaccine. The final stage of the clinical trials involves the testing of the doses on thousands of participants to and monitor the results. Moreover, with US Elections 2020 just around the corner, US President Donald Trump has been touting a quince COVID-19 vaccine to dismiss the overshadowing criticism on his handling of the pandemic and promote his reelection. 

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Moderna: Unlikely for vaccine to be out by Oct

Moderna, the only company revealing the potential timetable within which a successful COVID-19 vaccine could be developed, has reportedly said that it would be before 2020 ends. But, Trump has reportedly recently reiterated that there could be a vaccine as early as in four weeks time, that is, before the November presidential elections. However, Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel told CNBC on September 17 that October is possible but unlikely. 

Both Moderna and Pfizer have rolled out the detailed blueprints of the comprehensive road map for the clinical trials of their vaccine candidates along with the information of how the participants are being tested and monitored. According to international media reports, the plans have also laid out the conditions under which the problems would halt the trial at an early stage and how the collected data is being incorporated to determine if the person receiving the potential vaccine is safe from COVID-19. 

Meanwhile, as the global COVID-19 cases surpass 30 million, the race for acquiring the potential doses of the vaccine has grown more intense. With the calculations that “expose a broken system”, a recent report by an international anti-poverty nonprofit Oxfam revealed on September 17 that rich nations including the United States, UK and Japan that represent only 13 per cent of the world’s population have already acquired 51 per cent of the promised doses of COVID-19 vaccine candidates. 

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