Manufacturing Pace Is Key For COVID-19 Vaccine Candidates Hoping To Jump To ‘Warp Speed’

Ease of manufacturing scale up may determine which candidates advance furthest in the US government's partnership with industry to speed COVID-19 vaccines to patients. Senior government officials also discussed approval standards, how a vaccine would be distributed, and how much the government and Americans could pay in a 16 June press call.

Syringe vaccine and vaccine production. Mass-produced syringes with the vaccine contained in it. The new syringes are labelled with the word “vaccine” and the needles have a grey safety lid on them.
Ability to quickly scale up vaccine manufacturing may be a key factor in Operation Warp Speed success • Source: Shutterstock

The ability for a COVID-19 vaccine to be manufactured quickly and at scale will be a key factor in determining which potential candidates advance through Operation Warp Speed, a senior administration official said on a 16 June press call on the US government’s partnership with industry to accelerate coronavirus development.

Operation Warp Speed is in the process of narrowing down 14 vaccine candidates to seven, which will then go through testing in early clinical trials. The field will likely be furthered narrowed down before large-scale randomized trials are conducted on an anticipated three to five candidates

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