‘No guarantee’ scientists will be able to develop effective virus vaccine, says Anthony Fauci

*Tells US Congress panel a fully approved COVID-19 vaccine may take some time to get right

*Johnson & Johnson announces its COVID-19 vaccine has entered into Phase 3 clinical trials

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

As the world community awaits the production, release and eventual distribution of safe, effective vaccine(s) against the novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Dr. Anthony Fauci, a foremost infectious disease expert and Head of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, has told a US Congressional panel that it may “take some time” for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to grant final approval to a vaccine.

Earlier, President Donald Trump had suggested in public statements that there could be a safe and effective vaccine, approved under ‘emergency authorisation’, by the end of November 2020.

However, Dr. Fauci has countered the presidential pronouncements, insisting that there is “no guarantee” that scientists will be able to develop an effective vaccine against the virus.

Even if they do, Fauci says it will take some time to get it right.

The US Coronavirus cases were 6,861,211, and the virus was said to have killed more than 200,000 Americans.

The total global cases at 31,374,796 and aggregate global deaths were put at 965,893 as of Wednesday September 23, according to Coronavirus tally compiled by Johns Hopkins University

In the meantime, Johnson & Johnson has announced that its COVID-19 vaccine has entered into Phase 3 clinical trials.

The company said it is seeking to immediately enroll 60,000 subjects to test the drug.

If all goes well, the company stated that it hopes to have its vaccine ready for emergency use authorisation (EUA) by early next year.

It promised to quickly publish the results of its Phase 1 and Phase 2 trials.

Alex Gorsky, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Johnson & Johnson, said: “As COVID-19 continues to impact the daily lives of people around the world, our goal remains the same ─leveraging the global reach and scientific innovation of our company to help bring an end to this pandemic.”