Infectious disease expert Fauci urges Americans to trust medical experts

Anthony Fauci said that those who have a track record of giving recommendations based on scientific evidence and good data are society's best bet.

America's top infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci urged Americans to put their faith in "respected medical authorities" to navigate the pandemic, saying that those who have a track record of giving recommendations based on scientific evidence and good data are society's "best bet".

"So, if I were to give advice to you and your family, I would say that's the safest bet to do. I believe, for the most part, you can trust respected medical authorities. I believe I'm one of them, so I think you can trust me," Fauci said Tuesday afternoon.

Fauci's comments came on a day that marked a major milestone in the search for a COVID-19 vaccine. An experimental vaccine, developed by Fauci's colleagues at the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc., has shown that it activates people's immune systems exactly the way scientists hoped. This vaccine candidate will start on a 30,000-person study by July 27.

Fauci has consistently maintained that he remains "cautiously optimistic" for an effective and safe vaccine latest by early 2021.

Fauci was speaking at a Georgetown University webinar. His comments come amidst a White House smear campaign, spraying into public view a longlist of "mistakes" Fauci has made since the pandemic began.

Leading public health experts across the country have reacted to the politicisation of the coronavirus response, saying no other president has driven a wedge between public health officials and society like Trump has done.

The coronavirus has already killed more than 136,000 Americans and cases are surging to alarming levels across the US south and south west. The US death rate per 100,000 population has ticked up from the high 30s to 41 per 100,000.