Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, says he has hopes that a couple hundred million doses of a coronavirus vaccine will be available at the beginning of next year.
Fauci, a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, made his comments during a live question and answer session with the Journal of American Medical Association. His remarks were reported by CNN.
“…By the beginning of 2021, we hope to have a couple hundred million doses,” he said.
Fauci said a vaccine candidate, made by Moderna in association with NIAID, should move into the third and final phase of trials in volunteers by mid-summer.
“The real business end of this all will be the Phase III that starts in the first week of July, hopefully," Fauci said. “We want to get as many data points as we can.”
Thirty thousand people will be involved in Phase III of testing, he said.
Those tests will involve people between the ages of 18 and 25. The elderly and people with underlying health conditions will also be included, according to CNN.
The plan calls for doses of the vaccine to be manufactured even before it is clear whether the vaccines work.
Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel has said the company’s experimental vaccine showed promise in early testing.
Fauci said scientists should have enough information by November or December to determine if the vaccine works.
“I’m cautiously optimistic that with the multiple candidates we have with different platforms, that we are going to have a vaccine that will make it deployable,” Fauci said.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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