Researchers planned to enroll 30,000 adult participants, including people whose locations or circumstances put them at high-risk of infection. Participants will either receive the vaccine or a placebo, reports Xinhua.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotech company, is the first to announce a start date for phase 3 study in the United States.
The study aims to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity of the mRNA-1273 SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in adults aged 18 years and older, according to information on the website, which is maintained by the US National Library of Medicine of the National Institutes of Health.
Researchers will evaluate whether the participants develop COVID-19 14 days after they get their second dose. The participants will be followed for two years after receiving their second dose.
The study will be conducted at 87 locations across the US.
According to Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the phase 3 trials will begin with one by Moderna in July, then an Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine in August and one by Johnson & Johnson in September.