Anthony Fauci says half an effective COVID-19 vaccine would be enough to control crisis

While coronavirus continues to spread across the globe, the top US infectious disease expert, Anthony Fauci reportedly said that even half an effective vaccine would be good enough to bring the world back to normalcy within a year. While speaking to an international media outlet, Fauci expressed hope that the COVID-19 vaccine should be made available by the end of this year ‘in a safe way’. 

The top US expert said that it shouldn’t take later than the start of the next year to get the vaccine, however, US President Donald Trump reportedly said that it may be ready by election day on November 3. As per reports, while speaking about the Russian vaccine candidate, Fauci said that just because there is a vaccine does not mean that it should be administered to the public. He added that the officials need to be looking if a vaccine is safe and effective before it is made available to the general public. 

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Russia to roll out vaccine by August end 

Meanwhile, the Russian Health Ministry, on August 15, confirmed that the country has already initiated the production of its COVID-19 vaccine. Named Sputnik V, the clinically approved vaccine against the novel coronavirus has been manufactured by the Gamaleya Research Institute in collaboration with the Russian Health Ministry. According to reports, the vaccine, which is the first to go for production, will be rolled out by the end of this month.

Despite its fast-paced production, the drug continues to draw scepticism from around the world with many asserting that the Russians may have put prestige before safety.  However, dismissing their claim, Russian President Vladimir Putin had asserted that one of his daughters had been given the vaccine developed by the country after which she felt better. 

(Image: AP) 

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