Late-stage clinical trial for Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine is launched at Brigham and Women’s

A nationwide study begins Monday to find out if a potential coronavirus vaccine, developed by Cambridge-based Moderna and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is safe and effective in preventing people from getting COVID-19.

The clinical trial will enroll 30,000 people, with Brigham and Women’s Hospital leading the New England section of the trial.

The Moderna vaccine is one of five candidates that have advanced to Phase 3, the stage of research in which large numbers of people get either the vaccine or a placebo and are then followed to see if they get infected.