There are concerns that drug companies are being politically pressured to rush vaccines. Because of this political pressure, there is also concern that many people will not trust the vaccines.

Pfizer, however, was one not one of the many pharmaceutical companies that accepted government funding.

Spending billions of it own money on a vaccine, scientists at Pfizer are free from government pressure or meddling with their research and development of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Currently, Pfizer has 30,000 participants in its Phase 3 clinical trials of a vaccine for COVID-19.

Today, the company announced that it has asked the FDA for approval to add another 14,000 people to the clinical trial.

According to Pfizer, the expansion of the trial is aimed at targeting specific groups to improve the diversity of the trial.

The current 30,000 participants already include a diverse mix of ethnicity. However, the expansion is focused on adding more age groups and health diversity.

The current study did not include anyone under the age of 18. As such, the expansion group will add an age group from ages 16-18.

Also, in the expansion, will be individuals with chronic, stable HIV (human immunodeficiency viruses), Hepatitis C, or Hepatitis B infection.

On CBS ‘Meet the Press’ this morning, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla talked about the current trial and the expansion. Bourla said that he believes that a vaccine could be ready by the end of the year.

When asked, he said that it will ultimately be up to the FDA to approve the vaccine for the public.

However, Bourla said that he believes that their trials will be complete in time, and if approved, Pfizer will be ready and able to begin distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The post Pfizer Expanding COVID-19 Vaccine Trials – Vaccine Ready by end of 2020 appeared first on CitizenNewsWire.

FSD Pharma BioSciences recently submitted an application to the FDA to being phase 2 trials of a new drug that may relieve the deadliest effect of COVID-19, giving patients in hospitals a much better chance at survival.

For most people who contract COVID, the symptoms are mild and often comparable to the FLU or a stomach bug. But for thousands in this pandemic the effects are much more severe. This is due in large part to the body’s reaction, particularly in the lungs.

Inflammation of the small air sacks in the lungs can cause some individuals to suffer respiratory distress – they simply cannot get air into the body from the lungs. This is referred to as a ‘cytokine storm.’ Doctors are left with no choice but to place these patients on a ventilator – and most do not survive from this point.

The new drug from FSD Pharma is called FSD201 (ultramicronized palmitoylethanolamide, or ultramicronized PEA).

It works by stopping this inflammation because of the drug’s anti-inflammatory properties. If successful, this would allow the patient’s lungs to keep working and deliver oxygen to the body while the patient recovers from the virus.

Once they get the FDA approval, FSD will move forward with the phase 2 trial of FSD201.

The clinical trial will consist of random patients across multiple locations using a controlled, double-blind approach which will compare results of the drug vs. patients who receive a placebo and continue to receive the current standard care.

Twenty-five to thirty locations in Canada and the U.S. will participate in the study.

The post New Drug to Treat COVID-19 Patients to begin Clinical Trials appeared first on CitizenNewsWire.