Donald Trump Says FDA’s Push For Stricter COVID-19 Vaccine Standard “Sounds Like A Political Move”
Donald Trump said that the White House would have to approve an effort by the Food and Drug Administration to impose stricter standards for a coronavirus vaccine.
The Washington Post reported that the FDA is moving toward new guidance for emergency authorization of a vaccine, which would make it unlikely that it would get a green light before Election Day.
“That has to be approved by the White House,” Trump said. “We may or may not approve it. It sounds like a political move, because when you have Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna. These great companies coming up with vaccines and they have done testing and everything, I am saying why would they be adding great length to the process. …I think that was a political move more than anything else.”
But polling suggests that there is sagging public trust in a vaccine. An Axios-Ipsos poll showed that just 39% say that they are likely to take the vaccine as soon as it is available.
Trump, though, insisted that the companies doing current trials on a vaccine could be trusted. “When they come back and say, we have something that absolutely works, and they are coming back with great numbers and statistics and tests that they have to come back with, I don’t see any reason why it should be delayed further.”
On Capitol Hill on Wednesday, FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn said, “FDA will not authorize or approve a vaccine we won’t be confident in giving to our families.”
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