JUDY WOODRUFF: There is still no end in sight tonight to the COVID-19 pandemic and no economic
relief package either.
But health experts leading the fight say a vaccine may be on the horizon. That was a
central focus at the day's marquee congressional hearing.
Stephanie Sy begins our coverage.
STEPHANIE SY: A note of hope from the nation's top infectious disease expert today.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NIAID Director: We feel cautiously optimistic that we will have a
vaccine by the end of this year and as we go into 2021.
STEPHANIE SY: Dr. Anthony Fauci told the House Oversight Subcommittee on Coronavirus that
efforts to secure a vaccine are moving at breakneck pace. He also promised that when
a vaccine is finally approved, it will be widely available.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI: Ultimately, within a reasonable time, the plans now allow for any American
who needs the vaccine to get it.
STEPHANIE SY: Joining him on the panel, Dr. Robert Redfield, head of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, and Admiral Brett Giroir, the White House testing czar.
Democratic Committee Chair Jim Clyburn of South Carolina ripped into the Trump administration's
response, especially on testing.
REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D-SC): The federal government has still not yet developed and implemented
a national strategy to protect the American people.
STEPHANIE SY: Testing and contact tracing have been mostly handled at the local and
state levels. And with cases surging in much of the nation, Admiral Giroir acknowledged
delays in an exchange with Democratic Congressman Andy Kim of New Jersey.
REP. ANDY KIM (D-NJ): Would it be possible for our nation to have results for all COVID
tests completed and returned within 48 and 72 hours? Is that a possible benchmark that
we can achieve?
ADM. BRETT GIROIR, U.S. Assistant Secretary for Health and Human Services: It is not a
possible benchmark we can achieve today, given the demand and the supply. It is absolutely
a benchmark we can achieve moving forward.
STEPHANIE SY: Republicans pushed the panel on reopening schools, arguing that children
lose essential services when not in the classroom.
REP. BLAINE LUETKEMEYER (R-MO): We need to make sure we're looking at both sides of this
health care issue.
STEPHANIE SY: Blaine Luetkemeyer of Missouri warned that child abuse is going unreported
because kids are not in school, where teachers can see them and spot signs of abuse.
And the CDC's Redfield repeated his own call to return to classrooms.
DR. ROBERT REDFIELD, CDC Director: The public health interest of the students in this nation
right now is to get quality education and face-to-face learning, and we need to get
on with it.
STEPHANIE SY: But another point made by the Missouri congressman on the use of hydroxychloroquine
as a COVID-19 treatment was dispelled by Fauci, who called the study President Trump has been
touting flawed.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI: Any and all of the randomized placebo-controlled trials, which is the gold
standard of determining if something is effective, none of them have shown any efficacy for hydroxychloroquine.
STEPHANIE SY: Republicans also challenged Fauci to weigh in on recent political events.
Ohio's Jim Jordan pressed the point of whether protests against police brutality, like those
in Portland, Oregon, contribute to infections.
REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): I just want an answer to the question, do the protests increase
the spread of the virus?
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI: I don't have any scientific evidence of anything. I can tell you that
crowds are known, particularly when you don't have a mask, to increase the acquisition and
transmission.
STEPHANIE SY: Avoiding large gatherings is one of five actions the CDC's Redfield said
Americans should be doing to curb the virus, along with wearing a face covering, social
distancing, hand hygiene, and avoiding crowded bars and restaurants.
DR. ROBERT REDFIELD: If we did those five things, we have done modeling data, we would
get the same bang for the buck as if we just shut the entire economy down.
STEPHANIE SY: On the economic relief front, White House negotiators met with congressional
Democratic leaders again. Federal jobless benefits and eviction protections are set
to expire at midnight. But White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said the sides are still
deadlocked.
MARK MEADOWS, White House Chief of Staff: The Democrats believe that they have all the
cards on their side, and they are willing to play those cards at the expense of those
that are hurting.
STEPHANIE SY: In turn, House Speaker Nancy accused Republicans and the White House of
not recognizing the pandemic's severity.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): We don't have shared values. That's just the way it is. So, it's
not bickering. It's standing our ground or trying to find common ground.
STEPHANIE SY: With no deal in sight, House Democrats said they will cancel the August
recess until they have passed a relief bill.
For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Stephanie Sy.