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The White House chief immunologist told Sky News that he believes the British approval of the Pfizer COVID vaccine has been done in a “much shallower” way than it would have been in the United States.
Dr Anthony Fauci told Sky News that he believed the data “clearly shows that the vaccine is safe and effective” but that the speed with which it was approved by the UK health regulator would have sparked skepticism in the United States about your safety.
On Wednesday, the UK became the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer / BioNTechCOVID vaccine.
Dr Fauci told Dermot Murnaghan that his comments on his tests in the UK were not intended to be ‘a criticism’ but said: ‘I think it is very important that people realize that there are different levels of rigor and scrutiny when you look at the data.
“The FDA in the United States, I think, everyone realizes that globally it is the gold standard of regulatory function.
“Here in the United States, as I am sure it is something in the United Kingdom, there is this degree of skepticism from people about wanting to get vaccinated, thinking that maybe it was done too quickly, maybe it is not. t as safe and effective as we say they are.
“So we put the data through a very, very strict process of literally analyzing the data point by point.
“The UK has decided to do it a bit differently, they have gone through it very quickly.
Britain’s health regulator said the Pfizer vaccine had been “rigorously evaluated”
“And I can say, and this is not a criticism, but they have done it in a much less profound way than it has been done, and the FDA in the United States is doing it.”
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However, following comments from Dr Fauci, the UK’s health regulator, the Medicines and Health Regulatory Agency (MHRA), redoubled its commitment to the safety of the vaccine.
A spokesperson said all related data had been “rigorously evaluated” and “in the shortest possible time, without compromising the thoroughness” of the review.
The statement added that the data had included results from laboratory work and human clinical trials, as well as manufacturing and quality controls, product sampling, and end-product testing.
He concluded: “This process is designed to ensure that any approved vaccine meets the expected high standards of safety, quality and efficacy.
“No vaccine would be authorized for supply in the UK unless expected standards of safety, quality and efficacy are met.”
And Dr. June Raine, its CEO, said simply: “Public safety has always been at the forefront of our minds; safety is our watchword.”
