The money from the Texas-based vodka company will help speed up the process, researchers say.
HOUSTON — Tito’s Handmade Vodka is giving Baylor College of Medicine a $1 million boost.for its fight against COVID-19.
The grant from the brand’s philanthropic arm Love, Tito’s will help accelerate research on a vaccine for the virus.
Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor, and Dr. Maria Elena Bottazzi, associate dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine, and their teams are already working on the vaccine.
They had a head start thanks to work they started in 2011 to develop a SARS vaccine. Now, they’re using the critical scientific information they compiled then to come up with a vaccine for the virus that causes COVID-19.
“Our coronavirus vaccine is designed in Texas and tested in Texas with the utmost priority to ensure it is safe and effective,” Dr. Bottazzi said. “To now see that it will be supported by Texas-based Tito’s is a testament that our state will be recognized as being at the forefront of this pandemic, making a difference and reaching all populations locally and globally.”
The money from Tito’s Handmade Vodka will help speed up the process.
“It’s an honor to work with Tito’s on this life-saving initiative, which we hope will ultimately lead to a vaccine for America,” Dr. Hotez said. “Our vision is that it would also advance as a low-cost global health vaccine, now that COVID-19 is racing through Latin American nations, such as Ecuador and Brazil, in addition to South Asia.”
