Just like with the race to the moon, there is a race to be the first official COVID-19 vaccine developer. The latter doesn’t sound as fancy and exciting as the race to the moon, but we desperately need it. 

At the moment, there is a head to head COVID-19 vaccine battle between Russia and the United States: who will be the winner? 

Take a look at the facts and predict for yourself. 

The United States seems to be on the fast track to pushing out a vaccine. President Trump has recently made a deal with Moderna, Inc., an American biotechnology company that’s mission is to “create a new generation of transformative medicines for patients.” This seems like excellent news; however, it comes with a caveat. 

Moderna is manufacturing the vaccine “at risk.” This means that it is still undergoing clinical trials and is manufacturing it regardless due to the severity of circumstances. 

A few points to help you learn more, which have been taken from an article dated Aug. 11 by CNN. 

  • Moderna’s advanced stage clinical trial, which started July 27, is the first government-funded Phase 3 clinical trial for a Covid-19 vaccine in the United States.
  • Under this contract, worth up to $1.525 billion for 100 million doses, the doses would be owned by the US government and would be distributed and used as part of its Covid-19 vaccine campaign.
  • There are 28 Covid-19 vaccines in human trials, according to the World Health Organization. (So Moderna has some run for their money.) 

This all seems good and well. Now on to Russia. 

Within the laboratories of Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology in Moscow (which has no known website…and wow, what a name!), Russian president Vladimir Putin claims that the first world’s COVID-19 vaccine has been “approved.” 

Here is some known information about Russian’s vaccine, according to ScienceMag: 

  • The “approved” vaccine has only been tested on 76 individuals—and only during two months worth of testing. 
  • It will be “given to a small number of citizens from vulnerable groups, including medical staff and the elderly,” to test outside of the lab one can only presume. 
  • The vaccine cannot be used widely until 1 January 2021, presumably after larger clinical trials have been completed—yet BBC reports that Russia officials claim they plan to start mass vaccination in October.

Something seems off about this—what is happening in Russia?! 

Folks, you can now decide who to pick for the COVID-19 vaccine race winner. 

Until then—check out the updated COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker to get the latest information on where each manufacturer is at in the trial/release stage. 

If you’re in the market for bulk PPE in Los Angeles, reach out to Terratori today.