Even half an effective vaccine can bring world back to normalcy in a year: Fauci

Washington: Anthony Fauci, top US infectious disease expert, expressed hope that the Covid-19 vaccine should be made available by the end of this year, beginning of 2021, “in a safe way”. In an interview with American news broadcaster PBS, Fauci said it shouldn’t take later than the start of the next year to get the vaccine. Fauci added that even half an effective vaccine would be good enough to bring the world back to normalcy within a year.

Although President Donald Trump has said a vaccine may be ready by election day on November 3, Fauci is of the opinion that it may take until well into 2021 for shots to reach the general public.

On the Russian vaccine candidate, the expert said that just because there is a vaccine does not mean it should be administered to the public. “You need to be looking if a vaccine is safe and effective,” he told the PBS.

Russia’s decision to approve a coronavirus shot before crucial tests have raised questions over its safety and efficacy, raising worries that politics will trump public health in the quest for a vaccine against the deadly contagion.

Russia, however, has dismissed concerns about the vaccine, describing it as Western jealousy. President Vladimir Putin had vouched for its efficacy and said that one of his daughters has already been given the shot and felt better afterwards.

The country plans to start mass inoculations as soon as October. Experts believe Moscow’s plan could put pressure on other governments to rush ahead of regulators and skip key steps in order to push a vaccine out in the market, putting public health at risk.