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The director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci, believes that “by late November” or “early December” there may be a “safe and effective” vaccine against COVID-19. However, if this good news is confirmed, a mass vaccination before 2021 is unlikely, he told the BBC.
“I think we will know if a vaccine is safe and effective by the end of November, beginning of December,” he told the British television station. However, he said, “once we have a safe and effective vaccine, or more than one,” the question is how to get it “to the people who need it,” giving priority to health professionals and people at higher risk. health complications. “This could start at the end of this year, early next January, February, March,” he insisted. “But when we talk about vaccinating a substantial proportion of the population and therefore having a significant impact on the dynamics of the outbreak, this will most likely not happen before the second or third quarter of the year. [2021]. “
Fauci is concerned about the anti-science climate in the United States, which, according to critics of Donald Trump, is propagated by the president himself. Without mentioning Trump’s name, the infectious disease said that “people look at what their leaders say and do,” which can “influence behavior in a positive or negative way.”
Acknowledging that this mistrust in science could translate into a strengthening of the anti-vaccine movement, which would affect “some of the most vulnerable parts” of the population, Fauci says that “it would be a shame if we had an effective and safe vaccine and a substantial proportion of the population does not. he wants to take it because he does not trust authority ”.
This weekend, two of the leading candidates for the vaccine announced that they have resumed or will resume testing soon. AstraZeneca has already retested its experimental vaccine in the United States, following regulatory approval, while Johnson & Johnson is preparing to do so this Monday or Tuesday. AstraZeneca stopped testing on September 6 after a test participant in the UK was reported to have a serious neurological disorder. Johnson & Johnson also stopped working last week after a participant fell ill.
“We are not going to control the pandemic”
The White House admitted Sunday that the United States will not be able to control the pandemic because it is so contagious. “We are not going to control the pandemic. We will control the fact that we receive vaccines, therapies and other ways to mitigate it, “said Mark Meadows, chief of staff to the president of the United States, Donald Trump, in an interview with CNN.
When asked why the United States is not going to control the pandemic, Meadows replied: “Because it is a very contagious virus, like the flu.”
“What we need to make sure is that we have the correct mitigating factors, whether it be therapies, vaccines or treatments that make sure people don’t die from it,” said Trump’s chief of staff. By admitting the role of mask wearing and physical distance, the official devalued the fact that the Trump campaign is failing to meet many of these public health guidelines.
