Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the top government officials leading the U.S. response to COVID-19, says he "seriously doubts" Russia's claim about having developed a safe and effective vaccine for the disease. "I hope that the Russians have actually definitively proven that the vaccine is safe and effective. I seriously doubt that they’ve done that," Fauci said during a National Geographic panel moderated by ABC's Deborah Roberts. "Having a vaccine... and proving that a vaccine is safe and effective are two different things," said Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The vaccine, Fauci said, would be a very helpful "additional tool" to fighting the worldwide pandemic, which has infected over 5 million people in the U.S. and killed over 166,000 others in the past six months.

Source: Fox News August 13, 2020 19:07 UTC