Fauci Optimistic About COVID-19 Vaccine, Says High-Risk Could Get It In December

[appalachiablue]

Source: Newsweek

1 hr ago. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, said he believes a new breakthrough coronavirus vaccine could be available to the most vulnerable populations before the end of the year, if all goes smoothly through the final stages.

"They're going to dot all the I's and cross all the T's, but I believe with the impressive nature of the data that it should go through smoothly that by the time we get into December, we'll be able to have doses available for people who are judged to be at the highest priority to get it first," Fauci said during an appearance on MSNBC on Tuesday.

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced Monday that it and German partner BioNTech have developed a COVID-19 vaccine that is 90 percent effective, based on early test results that must still receive full approval from independent researchers at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Pfizer is expected to apply for emergency approval from the FDA later this month. The Trump administration has promised to fast-track the approval process to expedite efforts to end the pandemic that has killed nearly 240,000 people in the United States so far this year.

Cases continue to rise, and experts have warned that cold weather that forces more indoor activities could amplify the infection rate. Fauci, a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force who has been the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, said he will take the vaccine himself and advise his family members to do the same if it receives full approval. "I trust Pfizer; I trust the FDA," he said. "These are colleagues of mine for decades—the career scientists."...

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/fauci-optimistic-about-covid-19-vaccine-says-high-risk-could-get-it-in-december/ar-BB1aSFqq

[Backseat Driver]

1. Uttered in his most appeasing yet scientific voice...

Ho-ho-ho - me first after you and a few million more, Doc!

[marybourg]

2. But there's no proof, at this early date, that it doesn't cause unintended consequences,

at the very least to unknown subsets of people with certain characteristics, genetic makeup or underlying conditions.

I’m not taking it until there’s proof it’s safe for people with autoimmune conditions. I’m not suffering from ”pandemic fatigue “. I’m content at home. I’ll wait.

[yaesu]

3. I will not even consider a vaccine safe until its deemed safe under a Biden administration. nt

[TomCADem]

4. Doesn't The Fact That They Are In Phase 3 Trials...

...mean that there were no significant consequences in prior phases? For example, Johnson and Johnson's trials were paused due to an adverse reaction.

[marybourg]

5. Not enough participants received the actual vaccine,

and certainly not enough time has gone by, to ascertain how every other person might react. How many diabetics were included? Were they type 1 or 2? Were their cases mild, or were they “brittle” diabetics? How many with rheumatoid arthritis? How many with an extra y-chromosome?

Not many, if any, of course. This is a pandemic situation, and the greater good may indeed lie in vaccinating everyone and compensating those who suffer consequences. But we each get to decide for ourselves. At least so far. And I would first want to see how other people with my particular condition fare. If they’re willing to brave it.