Washington (WBAP/KLIF) – The White House has blocked new Food and Drug Administration guidelines on bringing potential vaccines for COVID-19 to market that would almost certainly have prevented their approval before the Nov. 3 election.
At issue was the FDA’s planned requirement that participants in mass clinical trials for vaccines be followed for two months to ensure there are no side effects and that the vaccines provide lasting protection.
Regarding the vaccine process, Mr. Trump has made a dramatic turnaround from previous comments on the vaccine approval process.
In 2017, Trump said they were “getting away with murder,” referring to the industry’s pricing practices. It’s an even bigger turnaround from his rhetoric before he ran for office, when Trump was a prominent voice questioning the safety of vaccines.
Meantime, during the 1st Presidential debate on September 30, Trump’s propped up comments from drug makers to bolster his argument.
He called out three biopharma companies by name — Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Moderna.
“Well, I’ve spoken to the companies and we can have it a lot sooner. It’s a very political thing because people like this would rather make it political than save lives. I’ve spoken to Pfizer, I’ve spoken to all of the people that you have to speak to, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, and others. They can go faster than that by a lot.”
Despite the move by the White House, FDA officials say companies are aware of the standards and are expected to comply with them.
(Copyright 2020 WBAP/KLIF 24/7 News. This report contains material from the Associated Press and STAT.)
