FACT CHECK: Has US found the vaccine for coronavirus?

A trending post on Facebook which is now being shared on WhatsApp claims the United States of America has developed a vaccine for COVID-19. 

The post which claims that the new vaccine can cure the virus within three hours has gone viral in Nigeria. The viral report also has an attached image of medical supplies labelled COVID-19 1gM/ with further claims that President Donald Trump has announced that “Roche Medical Company” will launch the vaccine this Sunday, March 29, 2020. 

The message reads: “Good News for world Great news! Caronavirus vaccine ready. Able to cure patients within 3 hours of injection. Hats off to US Scientists. Right now Trump announced that Roche Medical Company will launch the vaccine next Sunday and millions of doses are ready from it!!!.

FACT: CDD fact-checkers reviewed the message to know its authenticity. 

Our review which includes searching for Covid-19 IgM/IgG online shows it is a testing kit for COVID-19 and not a vaccine.

CDD’s fact-checkers also discovered the kit was developed by a South Korean firm – Sugentech and has nothing to do with Roche Medical Company.

A review of the Sugentech official website shows it has Covid-19 IgM/IgG listed as parts of its products. 

Sugentech describes SGTi-flex COVID-19 IgM/IgG as, ‘’a gold nanoparticle-based immunochromatographic test kit for qualitative determination of COVID-19’s IgM and IgG antibodies in human whole blood (finger prick or venous), serum or plasma. The kits are accurate and easy to use, and results can be observed with the naked eye within 10 minutes.’’

While various institutions and countries are developing possible vaccines according to different news reports, none has been announced for use. The Guardian reports that About 35 companies and academic institutions are racing to create such a vaccine, at least four of which already have candidates they have been testing in animals.

The World Health Organization says before any vaccine is approved for use, it must have been rigorously tested across multiple phases of trials and its use subsequently monitored to make sure it is safe and effective.

Roche is launching a global phase 3 trial to test its arthritis med Actemra for severe COVID-19 pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus which the company says is still going through careful examinations. 

CONCLUSION

The claim that US scientists and life-science company, Roche Medical, have found a vaccine for COVID-19 ready to be launched next Sunday March 29, 2020 is False. No vaccine, drug or therapy have been approved for COVID-19 treatment yet.