WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Drug manufacturers will likely have tens of millions of doses of a coronavirus vaccine in the early part of next year, with production ramping up so that it hits a billion doses by the end of 2021, Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. government official on infectious diseases, said in a Reuters interview on Wednesday.
Fauci said he has not seen any pressure from the White House to announce a vaccine close to the Nov. 3 election, in the hopes of boosting President Donald Trump’s re-election chances. He added that regulators have promised “they are not going to let political considerations interfere” with the approval of a COVID-19 vaccine and “safety and efficacy” will be primary considerations.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason and Michael Erman; Writing by Lisa Lambert; Editing by Howard Goller)
