U.S. Public Health Expert : Even if there is a Vaccine, the U.S. will not Immediately Usher in the Turning Point of the Epidemic

On September 15th. The White House earlier stated that the United States had 'turned the last corner' in the fight against the virus. This statement was met by Ashish Jha, Dean of the Brown University School of Public Health. Jaha stated that it will not be until 2021 that production and life in parts of the United States will 'significantly improve'. Currently, due to the new coronavirus pandemic, nearly 200,000 people in the United States have died from the epidemic.

Jaha appeared on 'CBS This Morning' on Monday 14th, saying that he agrees with Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Fauci warned that the United States should not expect to return to normal 'in 2021, and possibly the end of 2021'. Jaha said that the U.S. epidemic has not yet turned its last turn, and the next few months will be very difficult. By the spring and summer of 2021, many parts of the country may improve yet there will be more cases of infection.

The CEO of Pfizer said that by October this year, the company will have a more than 60% chance of knowing whether its vaccine is effective. Jaha said that he 'does not know what prompted him to make such a statement'. Jaha said that he and other public health experts have been calling for vaccine manufacturers to absolutely disclose their plans, research and statistical plans so that the medical community can make judgments and evaluations. Regarding the host’s question on 'If the United States gets the vaccine in the fall, how long will it take to vaccinate?', Jaha responded that even if the vaccine has been manufactured, it will take several months for the United States to distribute these vaccines. It will immediately usher in an inflection point of the epidemic. Jaha said, 'I always say that only vaccines cannot save lives. This requires tangible vaccination. (If there is a vaccine in October this year,) we will not start to carry it out mass vaccination among Americans until 2021'.

Regarding why the late-stage trials of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine have not resumed in the United States, Jaha said he is still unclear, but he emphasized the importance of maintaining a high degree of transparency in vaccine development. Jaha said, 'We need vaccines to be safe and effective. Usually, in normal times, all this information is not always disclosed and will eventually be reported to the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA). But now it is an extraordinary period and everyone is concerned. With the development of vaccines, it’s important for researchers to publish information'.

On the 11th of this month, Fauci, the chief infectious disease expert of the United States, warned that the United States should not expect to return to normal 'before 2021, or even the end of 2021'. He also said that the United States needs to live through this fall and winter honestly, because life will not be better. This is in contradiction with what U.S. President Trump said at the White House that day, who said that the United States has 'turned the last corner' in the fight against the virus.

The United States is still the country with the worst outbreak of COVID-19. According to Worldometer's real-time statistics, as of about 20:30 on September 15, a total of 6,750,105 confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia in the United States, and a total of 19,052 deaths.

Regarding the White House's exposure to deliberately downplaying the epidemic, some public health experts worry that this may affect efforts to get people vaccinated. Experts say that the epidemic cannot be controlled without trust. For epidemics, the key principle is honesty. Telling people what you know is essential to curbing the spread of the deadly virus.