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Pharmaceutical company executives plan to tell the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Tuesday that they can make a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine in record time, according to written testimony presented before the hearing.
Public health officials face mounting resistance from some people in the US who worry about the safety of vaccines and say they probably won’t be vaccinated, even if the drugs are widely available and affordable. Executives from AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Moderna and Pfizer will try to allay those fears in testimony before the panel about their company’s latest vaccine developments.
“We believe we can accelerate vaccine development and ensure safety,” said Dr. Macaya Douoguih, chief of clinical development and medical affairs for the J&J vaccine unit. “We are confident that everyone involved in the COVID-19 pandemic response will commit to developing solutions as quickly as possible, and the multiple vaccine technologies employed allow different rates of development at different stages.”
Due to the pandemic, health officials, pharmaceutical companies and researchers have accelerated the development of vaccine candidates by investing in multiple stages of research, although doing so could be in vain if the vaccine is not effective or safe.
There are no FDA-approved drugs or vaccines for the coronavirus, which has infected more than 14.7 million people worldwide and has killed at least 610,560 as of Tuesday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. According to the World Health Organization, more than 100 potential vaccines are being developed worldwide, with at least 23 already in human trials.
It is a record time frame for a process that normally takes around a decade to develop an effective and safe vaccine. The development of the fastest vaccine, mumps, took more than four years and was licensed in 1967.
But according to a survey by the Associated Press-NORC Public Affairs Research Center, only about half of Americans say they would receive a coronavirus vaccine if scientists manage to make one that works. According to the survey, among Americans who say they would not be vaccinated, 7 out of 10 worry about safety.
AstraZeneca, which released promising data from its early-stage trial for a potential vaccine on Monday, said it would use “an independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board” for its late-stage trial as concerns about the safety of vaccines.
“We must also accomplish all of this in a manner that complies with applicable regulatory requirements,” wrote Dr. Mene Pangalos, executive vice president of biopharmaceutical research and development at AstraZeneca.
Dr. Julie Gerberding, Merck’s Executive Vice President and Chief Patient Officer, made similar comments, saying: “Speed is important, but we will not compromise scientific effectiveness, quality and, above all, safety, despite a sense of urgency. that we all feel. “
The executives also argued that late-stage trials for vaccines must have a diverse group of people. In the U.S., blacks continue to account for a disproportionate share of Covid-19 deaths, according to U.S. data.
Conditions like diabetes, hypertension, and asthma that tend to plague African Americans more than other racial groups could be contributing to more Covid-19 deaths. Income inequalities and disparities in access to health care, which generally lead to poorer diets and overall health, tend to harm minority and low-income populations more than others.
“We have all been deeply moved by this in some way,” said Moderna President Dr. Stephen Hoge. “We also know that communities of color and the working class have disproportionately supported the burden of COVID-19. We must do everything possible to stop this pandemic.”
