Anthony Fauci says billion coronavirus vaccine doses could be available by end of 2021

As the number of COVID-19 cases multiply rapidly, countries across the globe have teamed up to produce a vaccine for the deadly virus. In a new development, the top US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said that billions of vaccine doses could be ready by next year. 

As per reports, Fauci, who seemed hopeful that the world could overcome the ongoing health crisis, said that there could be billion vaccines available by the end of 2021. Speaking about the vaccines, Fauci stated that they have a pretty comprehensive portfolio that’s eventually going to go into clinic trials.

Fauci, who seemed optimistic, further added that there might be at least one vaccine that would work and is safe to use by year end. He also said that this will not happen under any pressure to have the vaccine doses available in time for the US presidential elections. The expert added that health officials have promised "they are not going to let political considerations interfere" with the vaccine process.

US President Donald Trump recently commented on the virus outbreak in the country, saying that it is going away and will disappear like other things go away. However, Fauci said that some parts of the US have done well in combating the spread of the disease, while others are still struggling with it. 

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Current COVID-19 situation in US

The US, which is currently the worst-hit nation, is committed in investing a huge amount of money on the vaccines being produced by companies including Johnson & Johnson , Moderna Inc , Pfizer Inc , Novavax Inc and Sanofi SA. Commenting on these, Fauci said he doesn’t favour any one over the other and all of them look good to him.

Echoing similar sentiments, US Secretary of Health and Human Services had earlier stated that the US would have hundreds of millions of doses available by early 2021. Due to the highly infectious nature of the deadly virus and the fact that it can spread asymptomatically, the number of cases are bound to rise.  

To curb the spread of the virus, currently, there are more than 100 potential vaccines in various stages of development. The goal of coming out the vaccine doses is only possible because of the drugmakers and experts, who have agreed to produce and manufacture large supplies of the vaccines. The US surpassed 4.8 million COVID-19 cases on August 6 and recorded a total of 159,000 fatalities. 

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(Image credit: AP) (With inputs from agency)