ORLANDO, Fla. — With the approval of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine in the United Kingdom this week, researchers in Florida are hopeful FDA approval here in the US could be right around the corner.
Dr. Charlotte-Paige Rolle, research director at Orlando immunology center, says getting to this point hasn’t always been easy.
“As of yesterday, we’re sitting close to 28-thousand people which is super exciting because we’ve been working on this for a long time”
Earlier this year, trials here in the US were paused for nearly three months after some participants in another country reported getting sick.
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Those illnesses were later found to be unrelated to the vaccine and the work resumed.
“I’m happy to report we’ve been on smooth ground so it’s been smooth sailing from here on,” Rolle said.
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So far, the 500 plus participants are doing well after the standard two-dose process.
“That’s just very promising, it’s reassuring, and it holds a lot of hope for the future,” Rolle said.
Researchers estimate full FDA approval of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine could come as early as April.