Sen. Portman participating in Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine trial

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Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said on Tuesday that he's participating in Janssen-Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus vaccine trial.

The news comes after two other coronavirus vaccines appear close to the finish line — Pfizer-BioNTech reported 90% effectiveness for its vaccine last week, while Moderna reported 94.5% effectiveness for its vaccine on Monday.

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"After getting briefed on the Janssen-Johnson & Johnson phase 3 trial recently by Cincinnati's own CTI Clinical Trial and Consulting Services, I decided to step forward and enroll in the trial myself," Portman said in a statement. "I look at it as a way I can play a small role in supporting our country's health care response to this pandemic. The more people Johnson & Johnson has in the trial, the sooner they can have the complete data they need to finalize this phase of the trial, and move on to the FDA approval process."

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio in 2017. REUTERS/John Sommers II

"While our country continues to address the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis – which continues to get worse with cases skyrocketing across Ohio – I’ve been encouraged by our progress in developing effective vaccines," the senator said.

Portman, 64, is enrolled in the ENSEMBLE phase 3 trial at CTI Clinical Trial and Consulting Services' research center in Cincinnati.

The "large-scale, pivotal, multi-country Phase 3 trial" launched on Sept. 23, Johnson & Johnson announced at the time.

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"I hope that my announcement today will encourage others to feel confident in participating in vaccine clinical trials being conducted across this country," Portman said in a statement. "I also hope it will reassure people about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines once they have gone through the trials and FDA approval process.”