COVID-19 Vaccine
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The country's COVID-19 task force, Operation Warp Speed, is urging its partners to be ready to start distributing the COVID-19 vaccine by Nov. 1.

Wes Wheeler of the delivery giant United Parcel Service said that the date is the first concrete goal set for companies working with the White House-led task force.

Wheeler added that UPS and other partners would start test delivery runs in September.

Operation Warp Speed make up government agencies such as the Center for Disease Control Protection, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Department of Agriculture.

The initiative aims to fasten the rapid production of COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines. Its goal is to deliver 300 million doses of vaccine by January.

United Parcel Service is working as a consultant to Operation Warp Speed, according to Wheeler. It expects to be involved with the government and private drug manufacturers in the logistics of the distribution of the vaccine and storage.

U.S. President Donald Trump earlier said that he expects a vaccine to be released "very soon." Making the Nov. 1 distribution date ever more significant.

There has been speculation that he might launch an "October Surprise," counting on the release of a COVID-19 vaccine, in hopes to top the ballot box on Nov. 3.

FDA and other top government said only science and data will be taken into account in deciding if a vaccine is accepted.

Peter Marks, the director of FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said on Thursday that he had faced no political pressure to release a vaccine without sufficient data on its safety and efficacy.

Marks added that he would resign if that happened.

FDA said it might release the first vaccine as an Emergency Use Authorization rather than the full licensing process, adding that if that has enough data on safety and efficacy.

Marks said they have to balance the need to see a biologics license application, adding that it has thousands of pages.

"With a lot of different analyses, many of which will not be directly relevant for a decision of whether or not to make the vaccine available," Marks was quoted.

Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine

Moderna announced, on Aug. 11, its supply agreement with the U.S. government for the first 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine.

So far, the drug developer said that it has 13, 194 enrolled participants in the ongoing late-stage 30,000-volunteer U.S. trial testing its COVID-19 vaccine.

The company said that 18 percent of the participants are Black, Latino, American Indian, or Alaskan Indian.

These are the ethnic groups that are massively hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company began the study of its vaccine candidate in July and expected to complete it in September.

Moderna has never brought a vaccine to the market. It received nearly $1 billion from the U.S. government from its partnership.

"Today's award of up to $1.525 billion is for the manufacturing and delivery of 100 million doses of mRNA-1273 including incentive payments for timely delivery of the product," Moderna was quoted in its partnership statement.

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