⁍ Moderna Inc’s vaccine against COVID-19 could be ready for widespread use by the end of this year.

---

⁍ The drugmaker announced the start of a 30,000-subject trial to demonstrate it is safe and effective.

---

⁍ Pfizer Inc and Johnson & Johnson are launching advanced stage clinical trials this month for their COVID-19 vaccine candidates.

---

– The deadly strain of coronavirus that has killed hundreds of thousands of people around the world is getting closer to a vaccine. Drugmaker Moderna announced Monday that it has begun a large, late-stage clinical trial of its vaccine against COVID-19, reports Reuters. If it works, the vaccine could be ready for widespread use by the end of the year. More than 150 vaccine candidates are in various stages of development, with some two dozen prospects already conducting human testing. Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson are launching advanced stage clinical trials this month for their COVID-19 vaccine candidates. British drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc said it will begin large-scale US trials this summer of its vaccine under development with Oxford University researchers. “Having a safe and effective vaccine distributed by the end of 2020 is a stretch goal, but it’s the right goal for the American people,” National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins said in a release announcing the start of Moderna’s large Phase III trial. Moderna, which has never brought a vaccine to market, has received nearly $1 billion from the US government, which is helping bankroll several vaccine candidates under its Operation Warp Speed program. More than 150 coronavirus vaccine candidates are in various stages of development, with some two dozen prospects already conducting human testing. Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) are launching advanced stage clinical trials this month for their COVID-19 vaccine candidates. British drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc said it will begin large-scale US trials this summer of its vaccine under development with Oxford University researchers.