Prognosis

NIH Chief Says No Way to Know When Safe Vaccine Will Be Ready

Collins hopes people will listen to scientists not politicians
AstraZeneca pause cited as showing safety key to approval

Watch: National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins says there’s no way to tell if a safe vaccine will be available before the Nov. 3 election.(Source: ABC/Bloomberg)

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By Anna Edney, Jacquie Lee, and Riley Griffin

September 9, 2020 at 5:40 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Contradicting President Donald Trump, the head of the National Institutes of Health said there’s no way to tell if a safe vaccine will be available before the Nov. 3 election. But he remains hopeful that we can have one by year’s end.

“Will it be done by a certain date?” NIH Director Francis Collins said during a congressional hearing Wednesday. “I could not possibly tell you right now. I don’t know what’s going to happen.”