Drugmaker Pfizer could know before the November election whether its coronavirus vaccine is safe and effective.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said that data from its phase three trial of the vaccine should be ready for the Food and Drug Administration by late October.
“It’s more than 60% that we will know if the product works or not by the end of October,” Bourla said Sunday on Face the Nation. “But of course, that doesn’t mean that it works. It means that we will know if it works.” The company is prepared to distribute “hundreds of thousands of doses” if the vaccine is approved, he added.
Two other companies, Moderna and AstraZeneca, are also conducting phase three trials of coronavirus vaccines. AstraZeneca recently suspended its trial after one participant suffered an adverse medical condition. Over the weekend, it announced it would resume its trial.
A major vaccine breakthrough would likely have big implications for the presidential election by giving a significant boost to the Trump campaign.
Democrat vice-presidential nominee Kamala Harris recently said she didn’t trust the president to relay accurate information on the vaccine.
“I will not take his word for it,” the California senator said. “He’s looking at an election coming up in less than 60 days, and he’s grasping to get whatever he can to pretend he has been a leader on this issue when he is not.”
Trump responded, “We’re going to have a vaccine very soon. Maybe even before a very special day. You know what date I’m talking about.”
