⁍ AstraZeneca Plc has resumed the U.S. trial of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine after approval by regulators.

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⁍ Johnson & Johnson is preparing to resume its trial on Monday or Tuesday.

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⁍ Both companies have contracts to provide vaccine to the United States and other governments if they are cleared by regulators.

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– Two of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world are preparing to resume testing their coronavirus vaccines in the US after the FDA cleared them to do so. Johnson & Johnson halted its trial last week after a study participant fell ill, but it plans to restart it Monday or Tuesday after a safety panel found no evidence the vaccine caused the volunteer to fall ill, Reuters reports. British drugmaker AstraZeneca resumed its US trial after the FDA’s approval of its vaccine, called COVID-19, last week. “As this trial resumes, I am hoping the message communicated to the public is that we are following procedures to highest ethical standard and not interfering with the FDA regulatory process,” the head of vaccine development for Operation Warp Speed tells Reuters. Both companies have contracts to provide vaccines to the US and other governments if they are cleared by regulators. Officials and experts have expressed concern that the regulatory approval process overseen by the FDA will be undermined by political pressure, and around a quarter of Americans say they are hesitant to take a COVID-19 vaccine. “As this trial resumes, I am hoping the message communicated to the public is that we are following procedures to highest ethical standard and not interfering with the FDA regulatory process,” the head of vaccine development for Operation Warp Speed says.