President Donald Trump is once again committing to the development of an expedited coronavirus vaccine “before the end of the year.”
On the final night of the Republican National Convention, the president delivered an hour-long speech before officially accepting the Republican presidential nomination.
At one point during his speech, he discussed his administration’s efforts to combat the coronavirus as he committed to the development of a vaccine. The president projected that the vaccine would be created “before the end of the year, or maybe even sooner.”
“We are delivering lifesaving therapies, and we’ll produce a vaccine before the end of the year, or maybe even sooner,” Trump said.
See Trump’s remarks below:
Trump claims at the #RNC that America will produce a coronavirus vaccine "before the end of the year."
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) August 28, 2020
It Will Be Very Difficult For Trump To Rush A Vaccine Before The Election, Even If He Tries https://t.co/h15CQBRcHz pic.twitter.com/RXGz67NhIr
While Trump’s promise did draw a reaction from the audience, vaccine experts are still skeptical about the president’s projected timeline of delivery. In fact, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has also expressed concerns about the dangers associated with rushing a vaccine.
During an interview with Reuters, Fauci declined to weigh in on the president, he noted the “potential dangers” of getting a EUA (emergency use authorization) before determining a vaccine’s effectiveness to treat coronavirus.
“The one thing that you would not want to see with a vaccine is getting an EUA before you have a signal of efficacy,” Fauci said on Monday. “One of the potential dangers if you prematurely let a vaccine out is that it would make it difficult, if not impossible, for the other vaccines to enroll people in their trial.”
Fauci also stressed the importance of the safeness and effectiveness of the vaccine.
“To me, it’s absolutely paramount that you definitively show that a vaccine is safe and effective, both,” Fauci said.
He added, “We would hope that nothing interferes with the full demonstration that a vaccine is safe and effective.”