A Pfizer plant in Andover has been chosen as one of three locations in the U.S. to mass produce a coronavirus vaccine, potentially by the end of the year, according to the pharmaceutical company.
The first U.S. participants were dosed in a clinical trial for the vaccine at New York University and the University of Maryland yesterday, according to Pfizer and BioNTech.
The vaccine, which carries genetic code known as messenger RNA, attempts to reprogram the deadly pathogen rather than manipulate the live virus.
Scientists say the vaccine instructs a person’s cells to make proteins associated with the coronavirus without making the person sick. Researchers hope the body’s immune system will then kick in, creating the antibodies needed to fight off COVID-19. (NBC)