MA Company Takes 'Critical Step' Toward COVID-19 Vaccine

CAMBRIDGE, MA — A local biotech company was approved to begin the next phase of testing for a potential vaccine for COVID-19.

Cambridge-based Moderna said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave the green light on the second phase of a clinical trial for mRNA-1273.

"The imminent Phase 2 study start is a crucial step forward as we continue to advance the clinical development of mRNA-1273, our vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV-2," Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said.

Phase 1 had 45 volunteers in a Seattle research institute. Phase 2 will grow to 600 volunteers.

Moderna said it hopes to begin a third phase in early this summer. That timeline would set up for approval to be publicly sold as early as 2021.

President Trump has been saying he thinks a vaccine will be available by the end of 2020. Most experts have said it could take up to two years.

A recent poll by The Boston Globe, Suffolk University and WGBH suggested Massachusetts residents were much more willing to resume normal life after the development of a vaccine.