[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 194 (Monday, November 16, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S6687]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              CORONAVIRUS

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, once again, this morning brought two 
different sets of headlines on the pandemic we have been battling for 
the last 9 months.
  On one hand, rates of infection and hospitalization are rising 
rapidly nationwide. We must all continue taking smart precautions, such 
as wearing masks and practicing social distancing.
  But at the same time, we continue to receive hopeful signs that 
victory may actually be on the horizon.
  This morning, the American biotech firm Moderna and our National 
Institutes of Health announced that early trials suggest the vaccine 
they are jointly developing may be both safe and more than 94 percent 
effective.
  This follows Pfizer's similar announcement last week. As former FDA 
Commissioner Scott Gottlieb summed it up this morning, ``when the full 
data comes out, we may have two highly effective vaccines against 
COVID.''
  If these results hold, we are told the first doses of a vaccine could 
be administered to certain vulnerable people as soon as next month, 
with wider distribution by next spring. This is a remarkable testament 
to American ingenuity: to bright researchers and brave test 
participants, to bold commitments from the private sector, and historic 
support from smart public policy like Operation Warp Speed from the 
Trump administration and from this Senate.
  As Moderna's CEO said this morning, ``I want to thank our partners at 
BARDA and Operation Warp Speed who have been instrumental in 
accelerating our progress to this point.''
  Operation Warp Speed spent billions in funding to expedite research 
and development. It provided a streamlined regulatory environment and 
prepurchase agreements to reduce risk. It has mobilized the compilation 
of the basic supplies--things like needles and swabs--that need to 
travel with the vaccine itself.
  We have every indication that this historic public-private 
partnership is on track to deliver a scientific miracle and help us 
defeat the virus in the months ahead.
  Certainly there is no time to waste. Kentucky just announced our 
highest ever weekly count of new positive cases. The numbers are 
troubling in places all across our country. So, for now, our job is to 
continue doing all we can to stay safe and slow the spread.

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