BALTIMORE (WJZ) — When President Donald Trump announced Operation Warp Speed in mid-May, it was defined as a national objective to finish developing and then to manufacture and distribute a proven coronavirus vaccine “as fast as possible.”
Part of the operation is now taking place in Baltimore, at one facility belonging to Emergent BioSolutions.
It’s one of ten facilities throughout the country, but its facility in Baltimore is becoming one of the most productive in the nation.
That’s because this facility was created to manufacture vaccines.
Emergent announced this week it has partnered with the biopharmaceutical company Astra Zeneca to make that company’s coronavirus vaccine.
Syed Husain, Emergent’s senior vice president, said within the next few weeks, its Baltimore facility will be producing Astra Zeneca’s vaccine for clinical trials that could lead to FDA approval.
“They have the vaccine, we have factories and people that are ready to step up and do our part,” he said.
This is the fourth company, including Johnson & Johnson, whose vaccine will be made at Emergent’s Baltimore location.
Husan said this will “pave the way for multiple potential vaccines to be solutions,”
His employees are working 24/7 — at warp speed — inching closer to a cure for COVID-19.
For the latest information on coronavirus go to the Maryland Health Department’s website or call 211. You can find all of WJZ’s coverage on coronavirus in Maryland here.
