A labourer disinfects and clears out notes left by worshippers in the cracks between the stones of the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, ahead of the Jewish New Year, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis, in Jerusalem. REUTERS
A labourer disinfects and clears out notes left by worshippers in the cracks between the stones of the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, ahead of the Jewish New Year, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis, in Jerusalem. REUTERS
A medical worker stands next to an oxygen cylinder at the Yatharth Hospital in Noida, on the outskirts of New Delhi, India. REUTERS
A medical worker stands next to an oxygen cylinder at the Yatharth Hospital in Noida, on the outskirts of New Delhi, India. REUTERS
People queue at a test centre following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Southend-on-sea, Britain. REUTERS
People queue at a test centre following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Southend-on-sea, Britain. REUTERS
Local government officials wear costumes of pocong, one of the famous ghost figures in Indonesia, in order to campaign for the dangers of the COVID-19 coronavirus, at a traditional market in Tangerang Banten province. AFP
Local government officials wear costumes of pocong, one of the famous ghost figures in Indonesia, in order to campaign for the dangers of the COVID-19 coronavirus, at a traditional market in Tangerang Banten province. AFP
A man is detained by members of Victoria Police at the Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne, Australia. Anti-lockdown protesters organised a "freedom walk" to demonstrate against Melbourne's current Stage 4 COVID-19 restrictions. While organisers claim the gathering is legal, Victoria Police said they would be monitoring protest activity, with anyone considered to be breaching the Chief Health Officer's directives liable for a fine of $1652. Metropolitan Melbourne remains under stage 4 lockdown restrictions, with people only allowed to leave home to give or receive care, shopping for food and essential items, daily exercise and work while an overnight curfew from 8pm to 5am is also in place. The majority of retail businesses are also closed. Other Victorian regions are in stage 3 lockdown. The restrictions, which came into effect from 2 August, were introduced by the Victorian government as health authorities work to reduce community COVID-19 transmissions across the state. Getty Images
A man is detained by members of Victoria Police at the Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne, Australia. Anti-lockdown protesters organised a "freedom walk" to demonstrate against Melbourne's current Stage 4 COVID-19 restrictions. While organisers claim the gathering is legal, Victoria Police said they would be monitoring protest activity, with anyone considered to be breaching the Chief Health Officer's directives liable for a fine of $1652. Metropolitan Melbourne remains under stage 4 lockdown restrictions, with people only allowed to leave home to give or receive care, shopping for food and essential items, daily exercise and work while an overnight curfew from 8pm to 5am is also in place. The majority of retail businesses are also closed. Other Victorian regions are in stage 3 lockdown. The restrictions, which came into effect from 2 August, were introduced by the Victorian government as health authorities work to reduce community COVID-19 transmissions across the state. Getty Images
A nurse is reflected on a window at a COVID-19 ward where a patient lies in a hospital's intensive care unit in Buenos Aires, Argentina. AP Photo
A nurse is reflected on a window at a COVID-19 ward where a patient lies in a hospital's intensive care unit in Buenos Aires, Argentina. AP Photo
Medical workers tend a patient affected with the COVID-19 in the Nouvel Hospital Civil of Strasbourg, eastern France. France is grappling with the double headache of trying revive its COVID-battered economy while also curbing the steady climb in infections spread during summer months when vacationers let their guard down and picked up by increased testing. AP Photo
Medical workers tend a patient affected with the COVID-19 in the Nouvel Hospital Civil of Strasbourg, eastern France. France is grappling with the double headache of trying revive its COVID-battered economy while also curbing the steady climb in infections spread during summer months when vacationers let their guard down and picked up by increased testing. AP Photo
Member of the United Hatzalah emergency medical services organization wearing a protective suit collects a Coronavirus swab sample in Jerusalem. The Israeli cabinet approved a full three weeks lockdown during the Jewish holidays period beginning on 18 September aimed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and COVID-19 disease outbreak. EPA
Member of the United Hatzalah emergency medical services organization wearing a protective suit collects a Coronavirus swab sample in Jerusalem. The Israeli cabinet approved a full three weeks lockdown during the Jewish holidays period beginning on 18 September aimed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and COVID-19 disease outbreak. EPA
Signage is seen at an entrance of a drive-in coronavirus testing centre amid an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at Twickenham in London, Britain. REUTERS
Signage is seen at an entrance of a drive-in coronavirus testing centre amid an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at Twickenham in London, Britain. REUTERS
An elementary teacher records her voice, reading a storybook as the education department copes with distance learning amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Navotas, Metro Manila, Philippines. REUTERS
An elementary teacher records her voice, reading a storybook as the education department copes with distance learning amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Navotas, Metro Manila, Philippines. REUTERS
An NHS staff receives a self-administered Covid-19 test at a testing site in London, Britain. The UK government's Covid-19 testing program is coming under increasing pressure, with many people not able to get tests or are having to travel many miles to other towns and cities to receive one. EPA
An NHS staff receives a self-administered Covid-19 test at a testing site in London, Britain. The UK government's Covid-19 testing program is coming under increasing pressure, with many people not able to get tests or are having to travel many miles to other towns and cities to receive one. EPA

The Americas

Top US disease expert Anthony Fauci predicts mass vaccinations by mid-to-late 2021

He said the free jab should be ready in the coming months but would take time to deliver to millions of Americans

Kelsey Warner
Kelsey Warner

September 23, 2020

  • English
  • Arabic

Top US health expert Dr Anthony Fauci said a Covid-19 vaccine should be available by the end of 2020, but could take up to a year to roll out to millions of Americans.

To get everyone vaccinated in the US by 2020 would be "logistically tough” said Dr Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and an adviser to the past five US presidents.

“There will be tens of millions of doses available by the end of the year," he said at the Bloomberg Equality Summit.

By the end of the first quarter of 2021 he expects hundreds of millions of doses to be available for the nation’s population of 328 million people.

His comments come as US pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson announced it was entering Phase III trials of its single dose vaccine, joining eight other efforts worldwide in the race.

The single dose is a potential game-changer with two other leading vaccine candidates from Pfizer and Moderna requiring two jabs, which makes things logistically more difficult, according to Dr Fauci.

The US is battling one of the deadliest fronts of the pandemic in the world.

On Tuesday, the country surpassed 200,000 Covid-19-related deaths.

Despite this, Dr Fauci said a “return to normal” could be expected by the end of 2021 - if a vaccine is deployed alongside continued public health measures.

“It will be aspirational, but I think it's more towards the middle to the end of [2021] that you could get people vaccinated," he said.

Vaccine trials require a large number of volunteers of all ages, ethnic backgrounds and include people with underlying health conditions to ensure they are safe and effective for all.

Asked whether Covid-19 trials have had adequate representation of minority groups, Dr Fauci said “we are trying as best as we possibly can … but still we have to do much, much, much better with the relative percentage of African Americans that are in the trial.”

He added: “We want to be able to say with confidence that they are safe and effective in all demographic groups.

"You can make an assumption that they are but we want to prove it by getting the equitable representation in the actual phase III trial.”

Dr Fauci emphasised that the vaccine itself would be free because the Federal government has pre-purchased hundreds of millions of doses. But he did not yet know if there would be an administrative fee added by health care providers.

Frontline medical workers and those at highest risk - particularly low-income minority groups - should be the first to have access to the vaccine when it becomes available, he said.

A labourer disinfects and clears out notes left by worshippers in the cracks between the stones of the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, ahead of the Jewish New Year, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis, in Jerusalem. REUTERS
A labourer disinfects and clears out notes left by worshippers in the cracks between the stones of the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, ahead of the Jewish New Year, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis, in Jerusalem. REUTERS
A medical worker stands next to an oxygen cylinder at the Yatharth Hospital in Noida, on the outskirts of New Delhi, India. REUTERS
A medical worker stands next to an oxygen cylinder at the Yatharth Hospital in Noida, on the outskirts of New Delhi, India. REUTERS
People queue at a test centre following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Southend-on-sea, Britain. REUTERS
People queue at a test centre following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Southend-on-sea, Britain. REUTERS
Local government officials wear costumes of pocong, one of the famous ghost figures in Indonesia, in order to campaign for the dangers of the COVID-19 coronavirus, at a traditional market in Tangerang Banten province. AFP
Local government officials wear costumes of pocong, one of the famous ghost figures in Indonesia, in order to campaign for the dangers of the COVID-19 coronavirus, at a traditional market in Tangerang Banten province. AFP
A man is detained by members of Victoria Police at the Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne, Australia. Anti-lockdown protesters organised a "freedom walk" to demonstrate against Melbourne's current Stage 4 COVID-19 restrictions. While organisers claim the gathering is legal, Victoria Police said they would be monitoring protest activity, with anyone considered to be breaching the Chief Health Officer's directives liable for a fine of $1652. Metropolitan Melbourne remains under stage 4 lockdown restrictions, with people only allowed to leave home to give or receive care, shopping for food and essential items, daily exercise and work while an overnight curfew from 8pm to 5am is also in place. The majority of retail businesses are also closed. Other Victorian regions are in stage 3 lockdown. The restrictions, which came into effect from 2 August, were introduced by the Victorian government as health authorities work to reduce community COVID-19 transmissions across the state. Getty Images
A man is detained by members of Victoria Police at the Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne, Australia. Anti-lockdown protesters organised a "freedom walk" to demonstrate against Melbourne's current Stage 4 COVID-19 restrictions. While organisers claim the gathering is legal, Victoria Police said they would be monitoring protest activity, with anyone considered to be breaching the Chief Health Officer's directives liable for a fine of $1652. Metropolitan Melbourne remains under stage 4 lockdown restrictions, with people only allowed to leave home to give or receive care, shopping for food and essential items, daily exercise and work while an overnight curfew from 8pm to 5am is also in place. The majority of retail businesses are also closed. Other Victorian regions are in stage 3 lockdown. The restrictions, which came into effect from 2 August, were introduced by the Victorian government as health authorities work to reduce community COVID-19 transmissions across the state. Getty Images
A nurse is reflected on a window at a COVID-19 ward where a patient lies in a hospital's intensive care unit in Buenos Aires, Argentina. AP Photo
A nurse is reflected on a window at a COVID-19 ward where a patient lies in a hospital's intensive care unit in Buenos Aires, Argentina. AP Photo
Medical workers tend a patient affected with the COVID-19 in the Nouvel Hospital Civil of Strasbourg, eastern France. France is grappling with the double headache of trying revive its COVID-battered economy while also curbing the steady climb in infections spread during summer months when vacationers let their guard down and picked up by increased testing. AP Photo
Medical workers tend a patient affected with the COVID-19 in the Nouvel Hospital Civil of Strasbourg, eastern France. France is grappling with the double headache of trying revive its COVID-battered economy while also curbing the steady climb in infections spread during summer months when vacationers let their guard down and picked up by increased testing. AP Photo
Member of the United Hatzalah emergency medical services organization wearing a protective suit collects a Coronavirus swab sample in Jerusalem. The Israeli cabinet approved a full three weeks lockdown during the Jewish holidays period beginning on 18 September aimed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and COVID-19 disease outbreak. EPA
Member of the United Hatzalah emergency medical services organization wearing a protective suit collects a Coronavirus swab sample in Jerusalem. The Israeli cabinet approved a full three weeks lockdown during the Jewish holidays period beginning on 18 September aimed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and COVID-19 disease outbreak. EPA
Signage is seen at an entrance of a drive-in coronavirus testing centre amid an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at Twickenham in London, Britain. REUTERS
Signage is seen at an entrance of a drive-in coronavirus testing centre amid an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at Twickenham in London, Britain. REUTERS
An elementary teacher records her voice, reading a storybook as the education department copes with distance learning amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Navotas, Metro Manila, Philippines. REUTERS
An elementary teacher records her voice, reading a storybook as the education department copes with distance learning amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Navotas, Metro Manila, Philippines. REUTERS
An NHS staff receives a self-administered Covid-19 test at a testing site in London, Britain. The UK government's Covid-19 testing program is coming under increasing pressure, with many people not able to get tests or are having to travel many miles to other towns and cities to receive one. EPA
An NHS staff receives a self-administered Covid-19 test at a testing site in London, Britain. The UK government's Covid-19 testing program is coming under increasing pressure, with many people not able to get tests or are having to travel many miles to other towns and cities to receive one. EPA
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