White House faces some skepticism over prospects for vaccine
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 been met, not with exhilaration, but with suspicion among some 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.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious-disease expert and a member of Trump’s coronavirus task force, told CNN on Thursday that it is unlikely but “not impossible” that 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 that it is possible but “extremely unlikely” to have one before the election.
White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany, meanwhile, gave assurances that Trump “will not in any way sacrifice safety” when it comes to a vaccine.
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 that they are up and running by Nov. 1. Redfield did not say a vaccine would be ready by then.
Some longtime scientific advisers to the government said the CDC’s preparations do not necessarily mean that a vaccine will come sooner or that 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.”
Still, to some public health experts, the timing of the letter smacked of a political stunt.
“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.”
Three COVID-19 vaccines are undergoing final-stage, or Phase 3, clinical trials in the U.S. Each study is enrolling about 30,000 people who will get two shots, three weeks apart, and then will be monitored for coronavirus infections and side effects for anywhere from a week to two years.
“We will not cut corners,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla vowed Thursday in a call with reporters, hosted by a pharmaceutical industry group. Chief executives from Merck, Roche, Eli Lilly and Gilead Sciences agreed, adding that extra transparency on the approval process is needed.
Alex Azar, Trump’s secretary of Health and Human Services, gave assurances that any decision to release a vaccine in the U.S. would be based on the data and the “FDA’s gold standards.”
And he accused those questioning the Nov. 1 date of partisanship.
“I think it’s very irresponsible how people are trying to politicize notions of delivering a vaccine to the American people,” he told CBS. “We already have a significant challenge in this country with vaccine hesitancy. And efforts to undermine confidence in a vaccine … hurt in terms of people being willing to take a vaccine once it comes through.”