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Fauci: Most vulnerable people will likely receive first COVID-19 vaccine doses by the new year
Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the nation’s top infectious disease experts, said Thursday that some of those Americans who are most vulnerable to the novel coronavirus will likely have access to the first doses of a safe vaccine in December or January, Reuters has reported.
Dr. Fauci, speaking on a Facebook and Twitter livestream with director of the National Institutes of Health Dr. Francis Collins, said that those people who need the vaccine the most will likely receive the first doses of it “by the end of December or the beginning of January” assuming vaccine developers don’t experience any major delays.
The two leading participants in the race to develop a vaccine are the companies Pfizer and Moderna. Both companies have already been running clinical trials on humans for months, with the final stage having commenced back in July. Based on their estimates, Fauci said that it will likely be known “sometime in December whether or not we have a safe and effective vaccine.”
This comes as Moderna announced Thursday that it has already amassed $1.1 billion in deposits from multiple governments for a potential vaccine that it’s preparing to launch soon across the globe. It has been developing the vaccine with the assistance of the National Institutes of Health.
Additionally, Moderna’s Chief Medical Officer Tal Zaks said on a Thursday earnings call that their trial is operating according to schedule and that an independent data-monitoring committee is expected to conduct an interim review in November, The Hill reports.
Pfizer, on the other hand, has experienced some delays. The company, according to Reuters, was originally expected to publish its interim data in October but is now doubtful that it can announce the data before the end of the month. Ultimately, that data might be released after the U.S. presidential election on November 3.
Assuming the trials yield a safe and effective vaccine, before the first doses can be distributed in the United States, both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will have to review the data and then offer their suggestions regarding which individuals should receive the first doses.
You can follow Douglas Braff on Twitter @Douglas_P_Braff.
In a significant development, Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, was indicted on Thursday on federal gun charges as part of Special Counsel David Weiss’ ongoing investigation. The indictment alleges that Hunter Biden made false statements during the purchase of a firearm, among other charges.
The charges against Hunter Biden include:
• Making a false statement in the purchase of a firearm
• Making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federal firearms licensed dealer
•Possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance
According to the indictment, the alleged incident occurred on or about October 12, 2018, in the District of Delaware. Hunter Biden is accused of knowingly making a false and fictitious written statement during the acquisition of a Colt Cobra 38SPL Revolver. According to reports from Fox News, the statement, submitted on Form 4473, falsely certified that he was not an unlawful user of, and addicted to, any stimulant, narcotic drug, or controlled substance.
Furthermore, the indictment further states that between October 12, 2018, and October 23, 2018, in the District of Delaware, Hunter Biden knowingly possessed the same firearm despite being an unlawful user of and addicted to controlled substances. This marks the first set of charges brought by Special Counsel David Weiss against Hunter Biden since being granted special counsel status.
The investigation came to public attention when it was reported by Fox News in 2021 that police had responded to an incident in 2018 involving a gun owned by Hunter Biden.
Reports state that, Hallie Biden, the widow of President Biden’s late son, Beau, who was in a relationship with Hunter at the time, discarded the gun. Hunter’s gun was thrown away in a dumpster near a market, located close to a school. It was subsequently revealed that Hunter Biden had purchased a gun earlier that same month.
Hunter Biden’s legal troubles do not end with the gun charges. Earlier in July, an original plea agreement collapsed, which would have seen him plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax counts for willful failure to pay federal income tax, thus avoiding jail time on a felony gun charge. Instead, he pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and one felony gun charge.
Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed David Weiss as special counsel to oversee the Hunter Biden investigation and related matters. The White House has declined to comment on these developments, which continue to draw significant public and media attention.
Follow Alexander Carter on Twitter @AlexCarterDC for more!
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