Fauci: U.S. to conduct studies on 3 possible COVID-19 vaccines

The U.S. government will fund and conduct key studies on three experimental coronavirus vaccines, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the leading infectious disease expert said on Wednesday.

Phase 3 trials, which typically involve tens of thousands of people and measure whether a vaccine is safe and effective, will begin with one by Moderna in July, then an Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine in August and one by Johnson Johnson in September, according to CNN.

Each Phase 3 trial is expected to occur at more than 50 sites, mostly in the U.S., but possibly in other countries, too.

"The coronavirus vaccine effort is progressing very well, and we expect more than one candidate vaccine to be in advanced clinical testing by early summer," Fauci told CNN, adding that the testing plans still track with the timeline he has suggested before – a potential vaccine at scale but the end of the year or early 2021.

"This is good news for the overall coronavirus vaccine effort."

When it comes to developing a vaccine against COVID-19, Fauci stressed he is sure there will be "more than one winner" as the race to find a vaccine for COVID-19 is well underway worldwide.

Due to the ever-involving situations of the disease, he speculated that all potential vaccines would be needed.

(Cover: Dr. Anthony Fauci addresses the daily coronavirus response briefing in Washington, U.S., April 1, 2020. /Reuters)