Fauci says likely some degree of aerosol transmission of
new coronavirus
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[July 11, 2020]
(Reuters) - The new coronavirus is likely spreading through the air to
some degree, the top U.S. infectious disease official said on Friday,
one day after the World Health Organization urged further studies on the
ways the virus is transmitted.
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"Still some question about aerosol but likely some degree of
aerosol," Anthony Fauci, the head of the U.S. National Institute of
Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said by video during a panel
session at a COVID-19 conference organized by the International AIDS
Society.
Fauci on Thursday had said it was a "reasonable assumption" that
airborne transmission was occurring even though there was not a lot
of solid evidence behind it. The WHO urged more studies on the
issue.
The number of cases in the United States has surged to more than 3
million as states that quickly reopened bars and restaurants have
reported sharp increases.
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Fauci said that to battle the global virus, there needed to be
multiple vaccine candidates. Vaccine makers are aiming to have
hundreds of millions of doses ready for early next year and as many
as 1 billion in some cases, he said.
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"The companies that we are dealing with are already in discussions to start
gearing up to make hundreds of millions of doses and a couple of the companies
are promising that they would have a billion doses within a year or so after,"
Fauci said.
The United States has poured billions of dollars into vaccine efforts at Johnson
& Johnson, Moderna, Novavax and AstraZeneca. J&J has said it is aiming for 1
billion doses. Pfizer and BioNTech are also pursuing a vaccine and have said
they aim to have 1.2 billion doses by the end of 2021.
(Reporting by Caroline Humer; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Howard Goller)
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