The leading U.S. infectious disease expert, Anthony Fauci, M.D., on Thursday urged people to get whatever coronavirus vaccine is available, no matter what it is.
Speaking to NBC News, Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the approval of a third vaccine in the country is nothing but good news and will help control the pandemic.
U.S. regulators announced Wednesday that Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine is effective against the virus and requires a single injection. Its approval looks imminent.
Fauci cautioned, however, that people should not refuse to get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in anticipation of getting the slightly more effective Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.
This is a race between the virus and the vaccines, declared the expert, the longer one waits without vaccination, the more time the virus has to generate a variant or mutation.
Fauci expressed concern about the emergence of the new variants and reiterated the importance of respecting current health regulations, such as wearing a mask and keeping a physical distance.
The predominant variant in the United States is the one that emerged in Great Britain and Fauci emphasized that the vaccines available in the country are definitely effective against that particular variant.
