Dr Anthony Fauci warns against rushing out vaccine amid reports Donald Trump could fast-track one before election

A top disease expert in the US has warned against rushing out a coronavirus vaccine before it can be proved it is safe and effective.

It comes as reports emerged that Donald Trump is keen to fast-track approval of a potential Covid-19 vaccine before the US presidential election.

The Financial Times reported the Trump administration was exploring granting emergency use authorisation (EUA) for the jab being developed by Oxford University.

Dr Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said rushing out a vaccine could damage other clinical trials.

He told Reuters: "The one thing that you would not want to see with a vaccine is getting an EUA before you have a signal of efficacy.

"One of the potential dangers if you prematurely let a vaccine out is that it would make it difficult, if not impossible, for the other vaccines to enrol people in their trial.

"To me, it's absolutely paramount that you definitively show that a vaccine is safe and effective."

Oxford University's vaccine, currently being developed with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, is considered one of the leading candidates among more than 100 teams vying to produce one.

Mr Trump is lagging behind Democratic candidate Joe Biden in the polls, and getting a vaccine approved could be a way of boosting his numbers ahead of the presidential election in November.

The US president tweeted on Saturday that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) "is making it very difficult for drug companies to get people in order to test the vaccines".

In response to the claims a Downing Street spokesman said the UK Government has struck a deal with AstraZeneca to get “first access” to it once approved.

“We have been clear that we will only roll out a vaccine once it is deemed safe and effective by our regulators," said the Number 10 spokesman.

“AstraZeneca have entered into a number of agreements with other countries, they have the global licensing agreement with Oxford, but we have been clear: once it has been found to be effective, we have signed a deal for 100 million doses which means that once it is effective, the UK will get first access.”

Head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also warned against “vaccine nationalism” and said global competition to create one could lead to prices spiking “exponentially”, which would only prolong the virus.

Instead, he urged countries to support the Covax vaccines facility, which has the “largest and most diverse” Covid-19 vaccine portfolio in the world.

He told a WHO press briefing on Monday that 172 countries were “engaging” with the mechanism, which aims to deliver at least two billion vaccine doses by the end of 2021.

“We’re working with vaccine manufacturers to provide all countries that join the effort timely and equitable access to all vaccines, licensed and approved," said Dr Tedros.

“This doesn’t just pool risk, it also means that prices will be kept as low as possible.

“New research outlines that global competition for vaccine doses could lead to prices spiking exponentially in comparison to collaborative efforts, such as the Covax facility.

“It would also lead to a prolonged pandemic as only a small number of countries would get most of the supply. Vaccine nationalism only helps the virus.”

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