Exclusive: Fauci Says US May Not Need AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine

CHICAGO (Reuters) – The United States may not need AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine even if it gets U.S. regulatory approval, leading medical specialist Anthony Fauci told Reuters on Thursday infectious diseases of the country.

The vaccine, once hailed as another milestone in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, has been the subject of questions since late last year, even though it was cleared for use by dozens of countries, excluding the United States.

Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical adviser to the White House, said the United States has enough contracts with other vaccine makers to vaccinate its entire population, and may – be enough for booster shots in the fall.

When asked if the United States would use the AstraZeneca vaccine doses, he replied, “It’s still pending. My general feeling is that given the contractual relationships we have with a number of companies, we have enough vaccines to meet all of our needs without resorting to AstraZeneca. “

Late last year, the drugmaker and the University of Oxford released data from an earlier trial with two different efficacy readings following a dosing error. Then, in March, more than a dozen countries temporarily suspended use of AstraZeneca’s vaccine after reports linked it to a rare blood clotting disorder.

Also in March, a U.S. health agency said the company’s data gave an incomplete picture of its effectiveness. A few days later, AstraZeneca published results showing decreased effectiveness, although still strong.

Fauci said that “if you look at how many (doses) we’re going to get, how much you can get from J&J, from Moderna’s Novavax if we contract for more, chances are we can handle the whole boost. that we need, but I can’t say for sure.