Dr. Fauci Predicts Safe COVID-19 Vaccine by Year's End

Dr. Anthony Fauci is predicting that there will be a coronavirus vaccine developed by the end of the year, but he said won't be comfortable if the treatments aren't proven safe through clinical trials. If treatments are allowed through an emergency use authorization issued by the Food and Drug Administration, there must be information showing they are safe, he said.

He also told NBC's "Today" that he is concerned about the upcoming Labor Day weekend and the approaching flu season. 

"I would not be comfortable with a vaccine unless it was shown in a clinical trial clearly to be safe and effective," Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, commented. "I've been through a number of vaccine trials in which EUAs have ultimately been done, but they've been done when there was enough data you would feel comfortable it was safe and effective for the American public."

But Fauci said he does believe that by the end of the calendar year, "we will feel comfortable that we do have a safe and effective vaccine."

Meanwhile, Fauci said he's concerned about the upcoming flu season making the coronavirus even worse. He thinks the United States should be in a "full-court press" to get the COVID-19 numbers "way down as a baseline" so they don't surge when the flu season starts. 

However, he said he doesn't think college campuses should shut down when the numbers of infected students rise. 

"It's the worst thing you could do," said Fauci. "Keep them at the university in a place that's sequestered enough from the other students but don't have them go home, because they could be spreading it in their home state." 

He said he is concerned about Labor Day because of the surge of cases that came after other holidays this summer. 

"When you have a holiday like Labor Day, we saw after the Fourth of July, after Memorial Day, a surge in cases," said Fauci. "Wear a mask. Keep social distancing. Avoid crowds. You can avoid those kinds of surges. You don't want to be someone who's propagating the outbreak. You want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem."

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