Give Trump credit for vaccine role

MEDICINE WILL

ULTIMATELY GET US

OUT OF THIS MESS.

— SEAN SPEER

This week began with the tremendous news that Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is showing highly successful results in its Phase 3 trials. Although it’s still too early to know for sure, the signs are promising that we could have a vaccine as early as the end of this year. This would represent a historic scientific achievement. And, whether people want to admit it or not, Donald Trump deserves a significant share of the credit.

Let’s start with what we know. While the vaccine produced by Pfizer and its German partner, Biontech SE, is one of several currently at various stages of development, it’s highly unique — in fact, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the U. S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, called it “extraordinary.”

Unlike traditional vaccines that inject a weakened version of a virus to stimulate a person’s immune system ( such as we do for measles, mumps and chickenpox), the Pfizer vaccine is a biotech innovation that delivers a piece of genetic coding that instructs human cells to produce components of the targeted virus that can then act as antibodies. ( One other prospective vaccine, produced by the American- based firm Moderna, uses similar genetic technologies.)

But it’s not just its genetic innovation that makes the Pfizer vaccine unique. It’s also the truncated time frame in which it’s been developed. The arrival of an effective vaccine for COVID-19 in less than a year would smash previous records for vaccine development. As renowned virologist Dr. Larry Corey from the University of Washington has explained: “It’s never happened before, never, not even close. It’s just an amazing accomplishment of science.”

Such a significant scientific development in such a short period of time is a powerful sign that Western societies haven’t fallen fully victim to what New York Times columnist Ross Douthat has referred to as “decadence.” It’s shown that when faced with a serious external threat, we still have the wherewithal to cut red tape, produce cutting- edge innovation and carry out major projects for the collective good.

The news couldn’t come at a better time. Recent days have seen a clear reversal in our collective fight against the coronavirus. Canada, the

United States and elsewhere are setting daily records in the number of new cases. Recently released modelling from the Ontario government shows that daily caseloads could quadruple by the middle of the next month. And governments are now reimposing stringent lockdown restrictions to try to halt the rapid spread. These troubling developments are a reminder that science and innovation are the only durable solutions to our current mix of public health, economic and increasingly social crises.

Which brings us to the role of the Trump administration. Its overall handling of the coronavirus has rightly been criticized. The president’s mixed messaging — including his irresponsible dismissal of the virus — has no doubt contributed to public confusion, higher case rates and even deaths. But at the same time, the administration’s early and sustained focus on vaccine development was a stroke of public policy and governance genius. It reflects a clear understanding that modern medicine, not costly lockdowns, will ultimately get us out of this mess.

Its Operation Warp Speed is marshalling the full weight of the U. S. government, in partnership with the private sector, to accelerate the development, manufacturing and distribution of a vaccine. It’s a massive industrial and scientific undertaking that Trump has rightly described as our generation’s Manhattan Project.

There’s been some debate about whether Pfizer is part of Operation Warp Speed’s efforts because it didn’t receive direct research funding. But this seems mostly partisan and pedantic. The vaccine has benefited from expedited regulatory processes and $ 2 billion of federal funds to pre- purchase 100 million doses. And, if it obtains final regulatory approval, it will rely heavily on the American government — including the military — to support its supply chains and distribution in what will no doubt be a logistical rollout unparalleled in human history.

The Trump administration’s dichotomous performance on the coronavirus exhibits the good and bad aspects of political populism. On one hand, Trump’s lack of experience and disinterest in the levers of government power has contributed to a poor overall response to the crisis. That’s hardly in dispute — except perhaps among the president’s most sycophantic supporters. On the other hand, his outsiderism helped to protect him from the groupthink, risk aversion and bureaucratic malaise that tend to bedevil such major projects. It’s notable, for instance, that, notwithstanding Trump’s obvious failings, his administration has outperformed its better- governed peers when it comes to a vaccine.

There are still further steps to go before the vaccine obtains final approval and then is mass produced and widely distributed. But this week’s news is a crucial step on the path to a post- pandemic world. And while we may not want to acknowledge it, the Trump administration will have played a key role in helping to get us to that much- anticipated destination.

WE COULD HAVE A VACCINE AS EARLY AS THE END OF THIS YEAR.