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Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said Tuesday that he has serious doubts about Russia’s announcement that it has a vaccine ready to be used for the novel coronavirus. "Having a vaccine and proving that a vaccine is safe and effective are two different things," Fauci said during a panel discussion with National Geographic. (Wise, 8/11)

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on Tuesday said the U.S. was prioritizing safety and effectiveness in its coronavirus vaccine development after Russia claimed it had developed the world's first COVID-19 vaccine. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Tuesday the country has become the first in the world to grant regulatory approval for a coronavirus vaccine. (Sullivan, 8/11)

Reactions from experts — even from inside Russia — have ranged from cautious to skeptical, with some suggesting that the high-level haste in pushing an as-yet unproven vaccine may have more to do with politics than science. On Monday, the Moscow-based Association of Clinical Trials Organizations (ACTO) asked the Health Ministry to delay the vaccine's registration until after Phase III trials were completed. The researchers said fewer than 100 people had been tested — and that the early registration of the vaccine could expose end consumers to unnecessary danger. (Neuman, 8/11)

When Vladimir Putin announced Tuesday that Russia had approved a coronavirus vaccine — with no evidence from large-scale clinical trials — vaccine experts were worried. “I think it’s really scary. It’s really risky,” said Daniel Salmon, the director of the Institute for Vaccine Safety at Johns Hopkins University. (Zimmer, 8/11)

American scientists hope this is one time that President Trump really does believe it is all just a Russian hoax. As President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia triumphantly declared on Tuesday that his country had produced the world’s first coronavirus vaccine, public health experts in the United States worried that Mr. Trump would feel compelled to compete in a pharmaceutical manhood contest by hastily rolling out his own vaccine even before it is fully tested. (Baker, 8/11)

Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said on Wednesday allegations that Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine was unsafe were groundless and driven by competition, the Interfax news agency reported. (8/12)

Russia's coronavirus vaccine will be gradually rolled out to high-risk people before a mass vaccination of Russians begins in October, the head of the group funding the research said on Wednesday. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the approval of a coronavirus vaccine for use on Tuesday, claiming it as a "world first," amid continued concern and unanswered questions over its safety and effectiveness. (Regan, 8/12)