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COVID-19 vaccine will not be available before 2021, Fauci declares week before US election

WION Web Team
Washington, United StatesUpdated: Oct 25, 2020, 06:28 PM IST
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Dr Anthony Fauci (file photo) Photograph:(AFP)

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He also added that whether the vaccine is safe or not and how effective is the vaccine will be known by early December

As the world waits for coronavirus vaccine, Anthony Fauci, the US infectious disease expert, has claimed that the effectiveness and the safety guidelines about the COVID-19 vaccine will be clear by early December.

Fauci has declared that the much-awaited vaccine will not be available until later in the next year, 2021. His statement has come as a complete opposite of the US President  Donald Trump's claims that the vaccine would be available by the time of US election, or by the end of the year.

However, he also added that whether the vaccine is safe or not and how effective is the vaccine will be known by early December.

“We will know whether a vaccine is safe and effective by the end of November, the beginning of December,” Fauci told the BBC.

“When you talk about vaccinating a substantial proportion of the population so that you can have a significant impact on the dynamics of the outbreak, that very likely will not be until the second or third quarter of the year.”

Fauci and Trump have often issued contrasting statements on the issue of the novel coronavirus and its vaccine development. Trump has also snubbed Fauci publically several times hinting that he does not know better — on issued related to wearing a face mask, mainly. 

The US elections are scheduled on November 03 where he will be competing against the Democratic nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden.

Trump has often used COVID-19 vaccine as a selling point for his campaign of Trump 2020 re-election.