Eight Covid-19 vaccines being worked on and could be available by ‘late fall’
13 May, 2020At least eight candidates for a coronavirus vaccine are in the clinical development stage, and some could be ready as early as the “late fall”, Anthony Fauci, the US’ top infectious disease expert, has told senators.
“The [National Institutes of Health] has been collaborating with a number of pharmaceutical companies at various stages of development,” Mr Fauci said, in testimony on Tuesday.
As part of that plan, the administration is moving ahead with production of the vaccines “at-risk”, meaning that companies will be manufacturing large quantities of doses before scientists know for certain whether they’re effective.
“We’ll be investing considerable resources in developing doses, even before we know any given candidate or candidates work,” Mr Fauci said. “I must warn that there’s also the possibility of negative consequences, where certain vaccines can actually enhance the negative effect of the infection,” he said.
