US health officials claim COVID-19 vaccine will be free for all Americans

The United States department of health officials on August 13 claimed that the Trump administration will distribute coronavirus vaccine to Americans for free, when available. According to reports, Paul Mango, a senior department of health officials told reporters that the current administration has invested more than $10 billion in various vaccine programmes across the world and has also signed agreement to get millions of doses delivered once the drug is ready. The United States government has reportedly invested in six vaccine projects, including the frontrunner ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (AZD1222), which is being developed by the Oxford University and AstraZeneca. 

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As per reports, the US government will pay only for the vaccine doses, while the medical professionals who will be deployed on the ground to administer the distribution of the drug will be paid by private and public insurers. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) told reporters that the health department is positive that at least one of the six vaccine programmes backed by the government will be able to deliver by the end of this year, hinting at the possible distribution of vaccine by January 2021. 

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US President Donald Trump is reportedly keen on announcing a COVID-19 vaccine before the upcoming presidential poll in November this year in order to whitewash his poor handling of the pandemic that has killed more than 1,60,000 people in the country, which claims to have one of the most advanced medical systems across the globe. Media reports have also suggested that the administration may bypass safety regulations in order to achieve what President Trump wants, a charge Mango specifically denied. Mango said that the United States will conduct all safety regulations to check and evaluate rigorously before authorising the use of any vaccine. 

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US doubts Russia's vaccine

Russia on August 11 approved a potential COVID-19 vaccine which the country claims can provide immunisation against the disease for at least two years. The international community, including the United States, has accused the former Soviet Union of announcing a COVID-19 vaccine without conducting advanced trials on humans. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House COVID-19 task force member has reportedly said that he doubts Russia has proven effectiveness and safety of what it claims to be the world's first COVID vaccine. 

Read: WHO Says Russia's COVID-19 Vaccine Sputnik V Yet To Complete Advanced Trials