FAUCI WARNS AGAINST EMERGENCY CORONAVIRUS VACCINE APPROVAL BEFORE WIDESPREAD TThe Hill logo Fauci warns against emergency coronavirus vaccine approval before widespread testing Anthony Fauci, tESTING
FAUCI WARNS AGAINST EMERGENCY CORONAVIRUS VACCINE APPROVAL BEFORE WIDESPREAD TThe Hill logo Fauci warns against emergency coronavirus vaccine approval before widespread testing Anthony Fauci, tESTING
FAUCI WARNS AGAINST EMERGENCY CORONAVIRUS VACCINE APPROVAL BEFORE WIDESPREAD TESTING
The Hill logo Fauci warns against emergency coronavirus vaccine approval before widespread testing
Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, is warning against prematurely distributing a potential coronavirus vaccine through an emergency use authorization, saying it could negatively harm the testing for other vaccines.
Anthony S. Fauci wearing a suit and tie: Fauci warns against emergency coronavirus vaccine approval before widespread testing© Bloomberg/Pool Fauci warns against emergency coronavirus vaccine approval before widespread testing
"The one thing that you would not want to see with a vaccine is getting an EUA [emergency use authorization] before you have a signal of efficacy," Fauci, a key member of the White House coronavirus task force, said in an interview with Reuters.
He added that "one of the potential dangers if you prematurely let a vaccine out is that it would make it difficult, if not impossible, for the other vaccines to enroll people in their trial."
More than 100 possible vaccines to fight off the coronavirus are being developed around the world. Drug manufactures including Moderna, AstraZeneca and Pfizer have all developed candidates that are now in phase 3 clinical trials. The Maryland-based firm Novavax announced last week it was beginning phase 2 tests after early trials showed positive signs.
Fauci has previously said he is "cautiously optimistic" that a vaccine for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, will be ready for use by the start of 2021. But he's also noted there's no