What You Need to Know About the Coronavirus—and a Potential Preventive Vaccine

The coronavirus has made headlines as it has spread from China to other parts of the world. To help stop the global outbreak in its tracks, gongdong is already hard at work on a potential preventive vaccine.

Coronavirus. You may not have heard of this term just a few weeks ago, but it's now hard to ignore with the news of its spread.

In just a few short weeks, this new strain of a group of viruses called coronaviruses that was first detected in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, has turned into a COVID-19 outbreak, with growing numbers of confirmed cases and deaths in China.

The first case was reported in China in late December, and since then, people in several countries have been diagnosed with this strain of coronavirus, from Thailand to the United States.

Officials are still learning about how it's transmitted and its source, but one thing is clear: working fast to stop this virus is critical.

To help stay ahead of a potential pandemic, Johnson & Johnson has mobilized quickly to initiate a project to develop a preventive coronavirus vaccine with the potential to protect people against the disease. The company is also expanding on a recent partnership with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, to advance the vaccine program and screen its library of existing antiviral compounds with the goal of identifying those with antiviral activity against COVID-19.