[News] Dr Fauci: The UK 'was not as careful' as US in vaccine approval

[ROVEN]

 

Dr Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious disease expert, has said that the UK was not as rigorous as the US in its Covid-19 vaccine approval process.

 

 

The UK on Wednesday became the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer vaccine for the coronavirus.

"The UK did not do it as carefully," he told Fox News. "If you go quickly and you do it superficially, people are not going to want to get vaccinated."

Dr Fauci said the US approval of the vaccine would come "very soon".

The remarks come as the US nears 14 million total Covid-19 infections, with a recorded 273,590 deaths.

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The top doctor has said he believed that the US would have vaccine approval soon, and defended the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and its review process.

"The way the FDA is, our FDA is doing it, is the correct way," he said on Fox News. "We really scrutinise the data very carefully to guarantee to the American public that this is a safe and efficacious vaccine."

The FDA plans to meet on 10 December to discuss approval for the UK-approved vaccine, which was created through a partnership between Pfizer and BioNTech.

They will meet again on 17 December to discuss a second vaccine - Moderna's - request.

The UK's approval is expected to place extra pressure on FDA regulators to swiftly approve the vaccine, as American regulators will examine the same data.

And on Thursday, Dr Fauci told CBS News he will meet with members of President-elect Joe Biden's team to discuss the incoming administration's response to the pandemic.

Mr Biden had said that President Donald Trump's initial refusal to engage in the transition process, and to co-ordinate planning for vaccine distribution, could cost American lives.

Dr Fauci told CBS that he agreed with Mr Biden that it was "possible" the US might see an additional 250,000 deaths by January.

He has led the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIH) for more than 30 years, and has become the most visible member of the White House's coronavirus task force.

He has clashed repeatedly with Mr Trump since the onset of the pandemic, but said on Thursday that he was never prevented by the White House from speaking his mind.

"There have been bumps along the road," he said of his interactions with the Trump administration.