Dr. Makary: Putin claims to have won race to coronavirus vaccine, but US is 'further ahead'

President Trump says FDA is moving close to approval of COVID vaccine

Vladimir Putin claims Russia has won the race to develop a coronavirus vaccine; chief White House correspondent John Roberts reports.

Russia on Tuesday claimed to be the first country in the world to register a coronavirus vaccine, but Johns Hopkins University professor of health policy Dr. Marty Makary is skeptical of the legitimacy surrounding their clinical testing process.

"Don't jump on a plane and go to Russia to try to get this vaccine," Makary, a Fox News medical contributor, told listeners of the "Fox News Rundown" podcast on Thursday.

President Vladimir Putin claimed Tuesday that the new vaccine has been approved and is safe for use, but the benchmarks required to meet for a vaccine approval in Russia are far fewer than those in the United States, Makary warned.

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"It's basically the equivalent of a Phase I trial approval when they say they've approved the medication," he said. "It's really based on very little data. I don't think we can tolerate that in the United States in terms of safety and efficacy profile."

"I think right now we're still on track for what we believe to be a late 2020 approval or early 2021 event," Makary predicted.

As far as infection rates go, Makary credited herd immunity for lowering positive case rates "in most of the country" and predicts "good news" in the coming weeks.

To hear the full interview, subscribe and download The FOX News Rundown on your favorite podcast player.

The FOX NEWS RUNDOWN is a news-based daily morning podcast delivering a deep dive into the major and controversial stories of the day.

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