Fauci projects coronavirus vaccine by early 2021, with potential for hundred million doses

Dr. Anthony Fauci, a top U.S. infectious disease expert, projects that the country will have a coronavirus vaccine by early next year, with "a couple of hundred million doses" available. 

Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, made the projection during an interview Tuesday with the American Medical Association. 

Fauci said there are four or five trials underway for vaccine candidates, and he expects the U.S. to have millions of doses of a vaccine by the end of the year, according to CBS News. 

"By the beginning of 2021, we hope to have a couple of hundred million doses," said Fauci, also a member of the White House coronavirus task force.

He also said Phase III trials for a potential vaccine being developed by U.S.-based biotech company Moderna is expected to begin in early July. In addition, another vaccine candidate, from AstraZeneca, is proceeding on a similar track, Fauci said.