COVID-19: US experts answer Congress on vaccine development, assure no corners cut

Top US Health officials on Wednesday, September 23 struggled to assure the Congress and American citizens that any vaccine approved will be safe and can be trusted. These attempts come as the US begins the testing of a new COVID-19 vaccine which requires only one shot or dose. The US is currently backing several potential COVID-19 vaccines and hopes that at least one of them will prove successful by the end of 2020.

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Fauci: 'Cautiously Optimistic'

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Infectious Disease Chief at US National Institutes of Health, while speaking to the Senate Committee said “We feel cautiously optimistic that we will be able to have a safe and effective vaccine, although there is never a guarantee of that”.

Meanwhile, Senator Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington, has accused the Trump administration of trying to undermine scientists and public health officials. The Senator's comments came after the US President advised the Food and Drug Administration to ‘Move Quickly’ regarding the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine study.

As per reports, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn has asserted that the validity and the decision to approve a potential vaccine will come from career scientists, not politicians. Hahn said, “I will put the interest of the American people above anything else”. Fauci also added that there were no cutting corners when it comes to the testing of vaccine candidates.

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US is already backing several potential coronavirus vaccines and new Johnson & Johnson study aims to enroll at least 60,000 volunteers to test its new single-dose vaccine. Other candidates that are currently also in the final stages of testing require two shots.

The COVID-19 pandemic which saw its first outbreak in a wet market in Wuhan, China last year has now spread all across the world. The virus, named COVID-19 by the World Health Organisation, has infected over 32 million people worldwide with the global death toll reaching over 979,000. As per John Hopkins coronavirus resource centre, the US has reported more than 7.1 million positive COVID-19 cases and a death toll of over 200,000.

(With AP inputs)

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