BERMAN: We have breaking news in the race to develop a coronavirus vaccine. The U.S. government has just awarded its largest contract to date for vaccine development to the Maryland biotech firm Novavax. CNN's Elizabeth Cohen spoke with the company's CEO. She joins us now with the breaking details. Elizabeth.</s>ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: John, good morning. This is a $1.6 billion -- that's billion with a "b" -- contract to Novavax. It's the largest of any of the contracts that Operation Warp Speed or the federal government have done for a Covid-19 vaccine. Now, they think that they could have this vaccine -- Novavax thinks it could have this vaccine on the market by the first quarter of next year if all goes well. Now, they're currently doing preliminary trials in just 131 patients. They need to move on to large, phase three clinical trials of 30,000 people. I sat down with the CEO of Novavax, Stanley Erck, and asked him, when will you be starting these phase three trials?</s>COHEN: When do you expect to begin your large-scale phase three trials?</s>STANLEY ERCK, CEO, NOVAVAX: I think in the fourth quarter. We don't have a date set yet, but hopefully as early in the fourth quarter as possible. Maybe, if we're -- if we're lucky, we could start phase three in -- in late third quarter.</s>COHEN: Now, there are three other companies that have gotten money from the federal government. The first of those, Moderna, expects to start their phase three trials during -- in sometime this month, at the end of this month. And they say that they could have a vaccine on the market by the end of this year or the beginning of next year. John.</s>BERMAN: All right, Elizabeth Cohen, exciting -- potentially exciting news this morning. Thanks so much for being with us. A new study finds that President Trump's rhetoric about coronavirus is having an effect on hate crimes against Asian-Americans. We have new details, next.
Government Awards $1.6 for Vaccine Development