News on the coronavirus pandemic, protests, 2020 election and more from around Pittsburgh, Allegheny County and southwestern Pennsylvania.
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7:21 a.m. - Pittsburgh researcher says it's 'important to be realistic' about vaccine goals
Phase three testing for a coronavirus vaccine began this week in the United States. About 30,000 Americans will participate in the study of the experimental drug from Moderna and the NIH.
If approved, this would be the first vaccine to use the Messenger RNA genetic material. Paul Duprex, director of Center for Vaccine Research at the University of Pittsburgh, says Americans shouldn't expect a vaccine until the end of 202 at the earliest.
“The end of the year is an incredibly ambitious goal, but it's good to be ambitious,” he said. “But it is also very important to be realistic.”
Allegheny County has had roughly 7,500 cases of COVID-19.
Listen to our full conversation with Duprex on The Confluence at 9 a.m. today.
