Testing czar on Trump's CDC contradictions: "Everybody is right"
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Coronavirus testing czar Adm. Brett Giroir on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday tried to reconcile President Trump's claim that there will be enough vaccines for every American by April with the very different timelines of top government doctors.
The state of play: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Robert Redfield has claimed that a vaccine will likely be available to everyone late in the second or third quarter of next year. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has agreed with that timeline.
What Giroir's saying: "President Trump said that some projections according to manufacturing if things go as planned, we could have as many as 100 million doses by the end of this year — that is correct."
- "I think everybody is right, but they're talking about different aspects. ... I think Dr. Redfield is correct, the president is correct in the segment that he spoke about."
The bottom line: "The availability of a vaccine depends on one thing only, and that is the evidence and the science," Giroir said.
- "Right now, we do not have a safe and effective vaccine. The evidence and the data will drive that. I can't predict that."
- "I just want to assure the American people that when a vaccine is authorized by the FDA, it will be based on science and data. ... We can have confidence that when that happens, it will be safe and effective."
