Vaccines: Why skepticism is rising
Will President Trump pressure federal officials to approve “an unvetted vaccine” to save his re-election? asked Sharon LaFraniere in The New York Times. “Scientists and regulators across the public health bureaucracy” are increasingly worried that Trump may try to fast-track approval of a vaccine before Election Day, “even in the absence of agreement on its effectiveness and safety.” Their fears grew last month after Trump successfully pressured the Food and Drug Administration into approving emergency use of blood-plasma therapy to treat Covid-19, over the objections of regulators who called the treatment unproven. Such concerns led nine pharmaceutical companies to issue an unusual public pledge last week to “stand with science” and release no vaccine without adequate testing. Trump has explicitly linked vaccine progress to his election hopes, telling reporters last week, “We’re going to have a vaccine very soon. Maybe even before a very special date.”
Such reckless talk has damaged public trust, said Nicholas Florko in StatNews.com. In a new poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation, fewer than half of respondents said they’d want to receive any vaccine made available before November. In a STAT-Harris poll, 78 percent said they’re worried the vaccine approval process “is being motivated more by politics than science.” Democrats are worsening the problem, said Jeremy Beaman in WashingtonExaminer.com. Vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris and others have made “irresponsible” claims that a coronavirus vaccine approved while Trump is president might be dangerous. This cynical scare-mongering only “adds legitimacy” to unfounded anti-vaxxer fears.
Sorry, any skepticism is Trump’s doing, said Michael A. Cohen in The Boston Globe. “Repeatedly, the White House has ignored science and public health by playing politics with the coronavirus.” Remember hydroxychloroquine? Trump cares only about his re-election, and he’s reportedly telling federal officials to speed up the vaccine timeline. The halting last week of a Phase III vaccine trial shows how fraught this process can be, said Elizabeth Ralph in Politico.com. AstraZeneca had to pause trials of its much-hyped vaccine after a participant “showed symptoms consistent with transverse myelitis, a rare neurological disease.” The trials have resumed, but such setbacks are common in vaccine development. The incident offers “a cautionary note for those who think a magic bullet might be around the corner.”