Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, discusses various aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the acceleration of cases, the risks involved with Thanksgiving holiday gatherings and the potential surge that could occur afterward. Fauci also talks about the development timeline of the COVID-19 vaccine candidates and points out how data and safety monitoring boards have worked hard to ensure these products' safety and efficacy independent of the government or the vaccine developers.

There are 11 COVID-19 vaccine candidates being tested in late-stage trials globally, six of which are backed by the US government, and multiple candidates may complete trials by the end of this year or early 2021. National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Disease Director Anthony Fauci said high-risk populations and front-line medical workers could be vaccinated before the end of 2020.

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci spoke on recent developments regarding potential COVID-19 vaccines and various drugs being tested to treat the disease as America tops the list of global infections with 7.7 million cases and more than 214,000 deaths. "There's never a guarantee for a vaccine, but we are cautiously optimistic that we will have a vaccine that would be safe and effective by the end of this year, and we'll be able to distribute doses at the end of this year and throughout the beginning and middle of 2021," Fauci said.

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, spoke on the progress of vaccine development for seven potential COVID-19 vaccine candidates. "Favorable data in animal models and in Phase 1 clinical trials showed the induction of a very good neutralizing antibody response, making us cautiously optimistic ... that we will have an answer by the end of 2020 and will be able to start distributing vaccines in a meaningful way in 2021," Fauci said.

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Anthony Fauci said the US government must promote fair pricing and should not force pharmaceutical firms to slash the costs of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. Speaking at a Biotechnology Industry Organization conference, Fauci said he learned one thing based on his experience dealing with drug firms, and that is "if you try to enforce things on a company that has multiple, different opportunities to do different things, they will walk away."