Dr Anthony Fauci, one of the top officials leading the US response to COVID-19, says he “seriously doubts” Russia’s claim about developing a safe and effective vaccine for the disease.
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While Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the inoculation in an announcement on Tuesday, saying the precautionary measure has already been registered, Fauci says he “has not heard any evidence” that it is safe.
“I hope the Russians have actually proven conclusively that the vaccine is safe and effective. I seriously doubt they did,” Fauci said during a National Geographic panel moderated by ABC’s Deborah Roberts.
Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s direct investment fund backing the Sputnik V vaccine, said on Tuesday that the vaccine had gone through phases one and two of the standard three, but skeptics questioned whether it had gone that far.
Phase three, which typically detects side effects and measures the breadth of the vaccine’s effectiveness, is intended to last months and the timeline in Russia seems to have been a bit shorter.
“Having a vaccine … and proving that a vaccine is safe and effective are two different things,” said Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
“We have half a dozen or more faxes, so if we wanted the chance to hurt a lot of people or give them something that doesn’t work, we could start this new week, you know, if we want to. But that is not how it works. “
The US, UK, and Canada, which are also intensively researching and testing various potential vaccines, have accused Russian hackers of trying to steal their intel on COVID-19 drugs.
Fauci says U.S. measurements opened up the possibility of widespread vaccinations available to Americans by early 2021.
Although vaccines against respiratory diseases such as COVID-19 are generally less effective than those for other diseases, such as measles, Fauci said he would “gladly accept” with “at least” 50 percent efficacy, although it is possible for a new one. medicine to be as much as 75 percent effective.
The vaccine, Fauci said, would be a very useful “extra tool” to combat the global pandemic that has infected more than 5 million people in the U.S. and killed more than 166,000 others in the past six months.
However, Americans in every part of the country still need to adhere to basic social distancing guidelines and wear a mask, he said.
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Once initial doses of the vaccine are ready, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as officials from an independent task force, will distribute initial doses to healthcare professionals caring for individuals with the virus, as well as to elderly or immunocompromised individuals at higher levels. risk of infection.
