The top US infectious disease expert, Anthony Fauci on Tuesday, in an interview with health website KHN, said that a vaccine for COVID-19 could be made available earlier than expected if the ongoing clinical trials produce an overwhelmingly positive result.

The two ongoing clinical trials with 30,000 volunteers, which are expected to conclude by the end of this year, can finish weeks early if the Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) authorises, after the interim results are overwhelmingly positive or negative.

Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told KHN that the board could say, “The data is so good right now that you can say it’s safe and effective.”

He said that in this case, the active vaccine would be needed to be made available to all, including “those who had been given placebos — and accelerate the process to give the vaccine to millions.”

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The US top infectious disease advisor’s comment comes at a time when concerns have been growing over whether Donald Trump administration could push for an early vaccine, by November, to help him get re-elected. People have shown concerns over whether the political pressure for production for an early coronavirus vaccine can result in shaky confidence of the public in it.

Fauci said he has faith in the independent members of the DSMB, who are not the employees of the government, and that they would hold vaccine to high standards, without any political influence. 

“If you are making a decision about the vaccine, you’d better be sure you have very good evidence that it is both safe and effective,” Fauci told KHN.

“I’m not concerned about political pressure.”