Dr.
Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, told a House committee on Tuesday he remains “cautiously optimistic” that a COVID-19 vaccine will be ready at the end of the year.
Fauci returned to Capitol Hill to testify along with the heads of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services top official.
The U.S. has been slowly emerging from stay-at-home orders and business shutdowns, although some states have been doing so as far less cautious than others.
Arizona, Florida and Texas are bullish in opening their state, and have seen a worrisome increase in cases in the past few days.
Vice President Mike Pence claimed in a published opinion article that the administration’s efforts have strengthened the nation’s ability to counter the virus, and that the nation should celebrate.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump asked administration officials to slow down testing and announced it at his weekend rally in Tulsa.
The White House tried to take back Trump’s comment on testing, and said that it was not meant to be taken literally.
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone of New Jersey expressed his dismay on Trump’s testing claims, calling it “an extremely reckless action, and unfortunately it continues the president’s pattern of ignoring the advice of his own public health experts.”
Fauci has continued to warn the administration that the U.S. is still in the first wave of the pandemic, and urged the American public to continue practicing health measures such as social distancing and wearing face masks.
Widespread testing remains a critical action to catch clusters of COVID-19 cases before turning into full outbreaks in a given community.
He also said that political demonstrations such as protests against racial injustice pose as a risk to all involved.
Johns Hopkins University’s data shows that about 2.3 million Americans have been infected by the coronavirus, in which about 120,000 of them died.