The Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) announced yesterday that it has signed an agreement with a second pharmaceutical company to procure a (COVID-19) vaccine as soon as it is approved and released for global use.
Dr. Abdullatif Al Khal, Chair of the National Health Strategic Group on (COVID-19) and Head of Infectious Diseases at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), explained that the new agreement was signed with (Moderna), a company specialized in the field of biotechnology, based in Massachusetts, USA.
Dr. Al Khal said Moderna has been working since the early days of the pandemic on the development and testing of a (COVID-19) vaccine. Preliminary findings from Moderna’s phase 1 and 2 clinical trials have shown that the bodies of healthy adults have built antibodies against the CORONA virus and have produced immune capabilities to counter this virus through the T-cells inherent in the human body. While further testing is ongoing on thousands of volunteers, the informed medical community believes that the preliminary results referred to are encouraging and show remarkable progress in developing a safe and effective vaccine against the virus.
