In times like these, any good news is most welcome. And the good news recently came from Moderna, which announced it had gotten positive results in test patients of its experimental vaccine against coronavirus, also referred to as COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2.

In a news release, the company noted, “mRNA-173 was generally safe and well-tolerated, with a safety profile consistent with that seen in prior Moderna infectious disease vaccine clinical studies.”

“With today’s positive interim Phase 1 data and the positive data in the mouse challenge model, the Moderna team continues to focus on moving as fast and as safely possible to start our pivotal Phase 3 study in July and, if successful, file a BLA (biological license application),” said Stephane Bancel, chief executive officer at Moderna. “We are investing to scale up manufacturing so we can maximize the number of doses we can produce to help protect as many people as we can from SARS-CoV-2.”

And President Trump recently stated at a Cabinet meeting that “vaccines are moving quickly into phase one and two trials, and trials of dozens of therapies and cures are underway. And we’re making tremendous strides with therapies, cures, and vaccines. I think we’re way ahead of schedule.”

Vice President Mike Pence, head of the coronavirus task force, also reported he was “proud to report to the Cabinet today that our best information is that all 50 states, as of today, are partially reopening their economies, and the American people are responding and breathing that free air again.”

And to deal with the supply chain problem, Secretary Alex Azar of the U.S. Department of Health and Hospitals recently noted, “America has the capabilities, resources, and expertise to secure our medical supply chains; now the Trump Administration is providing the leadership to make it happen. Working with the private sector, HHS is taking a significant step to rebuild our domestic ability to protect ourselves from health threats by utilizing American-made ingredients and creating new American jobs in the process.”

In addition, he added that drug ingredients will be manufactured in the United States, including a new facility to be built in Virginia.

So, with all this urgent activity to provide a safe and effective vaccine against the virus, as well as therapeutics, and securing our domestic supply chain, there is a lot to be optimistic and hopeful about.