Dr. Anthony Fauci, the federal government's top infectious disease expert, told House lawmakers on June 23 "we feel cautiously optimistic" that a COVID-19 vaccine could be made available to the American public by the end of 2020 or the beginning of 2021. "There are more than one [vaccine candidates]. There are several that are moving along at various paces," he told members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. He said that one of the vaccine candidates will move to the next trial phase in July, while the others will follow suit in the coming months. "Although you can never guarantee, at all, the safety and efficacy of a vaccine until you actually test it in the field, we feel cautiously optimistic based on the concerted effort and the fact that we are taking financial risks ... to be able to be ahead of the game," Fauci said, noting that the thinks it will be a question of "when and not if" a vaccine is made available to the public.

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