Dr Anthony Fauci, Director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the US President's chief medical adviser, has said that he believes the AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) COVID-19 vaccine should be accepted by the US under its new travel rules, BBC News reported on Tuesday.

Currently, the US regulator does not recommend the AstraZeneca vaccine for use in the US.

However Dr Fauci said he knows there is a lot of data available on the vaccine.

Dr Fauci told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that given the fact the situation in the US is comparable with so many other countries, including the UK, the government wants to have a uniform policy of requiring vaccinations and testing.

Also, Dr Fauci added that the sooner the world gets vaccinated the "greater the chance we will get of not allowing variants to emerge".

According to Dr Fauci, it is less to do with travel and more to do with getting everyone vaccinated.