The drug company Pfizer is producing an experimental version of a COVID-19 vaccine at its facility in Kalamazoo.
The company says that test version will be used in clinical trials that are already underway.
It’s one of several potential vaccines that have been approved for control group testing.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer cheered the news during an interview on NBC’s “Today” show.
“The fact that there are human trials going on and that Pfizer has announced that they’re going to be producing here in Michigan, I think is a wonderful thing,” she said.
Whitmer also says production in Kalamazoo means U.S. health care workers could have quick access to the vaccine if it's proven to be safe and effective, and if it’s approved for distribution by the Food and Drug Administration.
“We know that everyone wants to be out of a stay-home order and, yet, we know too that if you listen to epidemiologists and our public health experts we can’t resume normal life until we have a vaccine,” she says.
Whitmer says that it’s still too soon to lift many social distancing precautions, but this is a promising development.
“It’s not imminent, but it is on the horizon and I think we need to find those sources of inspiration.”
Michigan has more than 44,000 COVID-19 cases and 4,179 confirmed COVID-19 related deaths.
