Pushed to rush, FDA chief says feds will get vaccine ‘right’

WASHINGTON » The head of the agency responsible for approving COVID-19 vaccines said Tuesday after a meeting at the White House that federal officials would take the time needed to “get this right,” despite increasing pressure and growing frustration from President Donald Trump that approval is taking too long.

“No one at FDA is sitting on his or her hands. Everyone is working really hard to look at these applications and get this done,” Stephen Hahn, the head of the Food and Drug Administration, told ABC in an interview on Instagram live. “But we absolutely have to do this the right way.”

Hahn’s comments came not long after he was summoned to the White House by Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows, as the agency weighs whether to allow emergency use of the first vaccines that could help defeat the coronavirus in the U.S.

Trump has been unhappy with the FDA for not moving faster, blaming the fact that a vaccine was not developed ahead of the Nov. 3 election in part for his loss. He also has leveled claims that drug companies deliberately delayed vaccine development to hinder his chances, though there is no evidence to suggest that took place.

Hahn emerged from the White House meeting with his job intact, but it was a sign of the pressure he is under that the FDA offered guidance that “Dr. Hahn remains FDA Commissioner.”

Hahn said the FDA will thoroughly review each vaccine before making it available to the public.

“We will make sure that our scientists take the time they need to make an appropriate decision,” Hahn said in a statement provided by the FDA. “It is our job to get this right and make the correct decision regarding vaccine safety and efficacy.”

An FDA spokesman said the agency must review thousands of pages of technical information provided by vaccine developers to ensure the shots were studied and manufactured properly.