Health experts skeptical of prospects for vaccine by Nov. 1
Could the U. S. really see a coronavirus vaccine before Election Day?
A letter from federal health officials instructing states to be ready to begin distributing a vaccine by Nov. 1 — two days before the election — has met not with exhilaration, but with suspicion among public health experts, who wonder whether the Trump administration is hyping the possibility or intends to rush approval for political gain.
The skepticism comes amid growing questions about the scientific credibility of the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and their vulnerability to political pressure from President Donald Trump.
White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany gave assurances Thursday that Mr. Trump “will not in any way sacrifice safety” when it comes to a vaccine.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectiousdisease expert and a member of Mr. Trump’s coronavirus task force, said on CNN it is unlikely but “not impossible” a vaccine could win approval in October, instead of November or December, as many experts believe.
“And I would assume — and I’m pretty sure — it’s going to be the case that a vaccine would not be approved for the American public unless it was indeed both safe and effective,” he said.
Similarly, Dr. Moncef Slaoui, chief adviser to Operation Warp Speed, the administration’s project to hasten the development of a vaccine, told NPR it is possible but “extremely unlikely” a vaccine will be ready before the election.
Also, executives of five top pharmaceutical companies Thursday pledged no COVID- 19 vaccines or treatments will be approved, even for emergency use, without proof they are safe and effective.
The concerns were set off by a letter dated Aug. 27 in which CDC Director Robert Redfield asked the nation’s governors to help government contractor McKesson Corp. set up vaccine distribution facilities so they are up and running by Nov.
1. Dr. Redfield did not say a vaccine would be ready by then.
Still, to some public health experts, the timing smacked of a political stunt by a president facing a tough re- election.
“I think it’s almost a certainty,” said Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health. He said November “feels awfully early.”
Dr. Jha noted the FDA’s recent move to approve emergency use of convalescent plasma against COVID
19. Last week, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn was forced to correct himself after overstating the lifesaving benefits of such treatment. The CDC also came under fire from scientists in recent days for quietly updating its guidelines to suggest fewer Americans need to get tested for the virus.
Dr. Jha said the stakes here are much higher.
“You want to have pretty good safety data on vaccines,” he said. “So I am deeply worried that that’s not what is going to happen.”
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer questioned the Trump administration’s motives.
“Too much of the evidence points to the Trump administration pressuring the FDA to approve a vaccine by Election Day to boost the president’s re- election campaign,” he said in a statement. “This raises serious safety concerns about politics, not science and public health, driving the decisionmaking process.”
However, some longtime scientific advisers to the FDA said the government’s preparations for the possible early availability of a vaccine do not necessarily mean an answer will come sooner or there will be a rush to judgment about whether one works.
“Being prepared for early success ... is actually prudent,” said Dr. Steven Nissen, a Cleveland Clinic cardiologist. If a vaccine is working, “you want to be prepared to act on the information.”