Dr. Anthony Fauci has said he’s hopeful we could know whether a COVID-19 vaccine is safe by the end of the year. He testified before a Senate committee Wednesday morning — along with FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, and CDC director Robert Redfield.
"Currently, there are three platform candidate vaccines that have entered into phase three trial. Very soon there will be a fourth. As I mentioned to this committee, we feel cautiously optimistic that we will be able to have a safe and effective vaccine, although there is never a guarantee of that," said Fauci.
The FDA's Stephen Hahn insisted that career scientists are the ones who make decisions about vaccine safety and he would be comfortable giving an FDA approved vaccine to his family – pushing back on allegations that politics has influenced decisions.
"Decisions to authorize or approve any such vaccine or therapeutic will be made by the dedicated career staff at FDA through our thorough review processes, and science will guide our decisions," said Hahn.
CDC Director Redfield also said while there's been progress, young people need to take the virus more seriously. He said that more than 90 percent of the population could still be susceptible to the virus.
There were a few sparks at the hearing. Sen. Rand Paul implied that Fauci was playing politics by giving Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo too much credit for the handling of the virus in New York state.
