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The director of the United States health authority, the CDC, Robert Redfield, assumes that the American population can be vaccinated against the coronavirus in the summer of next year at the earliest. The first vaccines could be administered in November or December of this year, he said at a Senate hearing in Washington. To get back to normal life, “let’s look, I think, towards the end of the second or third quarter of 2021.”
The US government recently emphasized that a vaccine could be shipped to distribution centers within 24 hours of approval by the US FDA and submitted documents to that effect. Vaccination should then be made available to citizens progressively and practically free of charge. Among other things, health system employees would have priority.
Earlier, Trump said he expected an effective vaccine to be available in the next three to four weeks. “We are close to a vaccine,” Trump said Tuesday on ABC News. “If you want to know the truth, with the FDA and all their approvals, it could have taken the government years before to get a vaccine. And we could have it in weeks, three weeks or four weeks.”
At a press conference Wednesday, Trump made disparaging remarks about the chief epidemiologist’s latest remarks: Redfield had made a mistake and was “confused.”
Does political pressure undermine medical regulations?
Pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Biontech confirmed last week that they would apply for approval in October if their phase III study of a joint vaccine candidate was successful. However, many experts worry that political pressure could undermine medical regulations. In fact, in recent weeks there have been several reports of influence on authorities and officials involved in the approval of a vaccine.
Critics accuse Trump of using the search for a vaccine for political purposes. The US presidential election will take place on November 3 and, in polls, Trump is lagging behind his Democratic challenger Joe Biden. In early September, the US government asked states to be ready for the distribution of a possible corona vaccine starting November 1. The head of the CDC, Redfield, had written a letter to the governors to guarantee the completion of the distribution centers by this date.
The letter shows the government’s willingness to approve a vaccine before the presidential elections. Trump had repeatedly expressed hope that a vaccine to contain the pandemic might soon be available. However, experts warn against marketing a vaccine without a sufficient scientific basis.
