Pharma giant Johnson & Johnson on Wednesday announced that it has begun phase three global trials of single-dose covid-19 vaccine among 60,000 volunteers from South Africa, Argrentina, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Mexico and Peru.
“Johnson & Johnson will develop and test its COVID-19 vaccine candidate in accordance with high ethical standards and sound scientific principles,” the company said in a statement.
The Covid-19 vaccine candidate by its Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies and its trial will be by far the largest across the world. The company said it could know by the end of this year if its vaccine is sustainable.
The potential vaccine has been developed with a long safety record in vaccines for other disease, making it one reliable procedure. Its vaccine could require just one dose instead of two which is important considering the spread of virus across the globe.
President Trump tweeted about the trial on Wednesday morning calling it a “big news”. “@FDA must move quickly!” he added, referring to the Food and Drug Administration, which oversees vaccine approval.
If the trials go as expected, the company might seek the emergency authorizaton early next year, Johnson & Johnson and Chief Scientific officer Paul Stofeels mentioned.
“We remain fully focused on developing an urgently need, safe and effective covid-19 vaccine for people around the world,” he added. “We are convinced that the single dose could be very efficacious,” he said.
A few other vaccines in the U.S. — including shots made by Moderna Inc. and Pfizer Inc. — and others in other countries are already in final-stage testing.
