Trump gives in on Covid vaccine safety and pushes likely release date until after election
Administration previously blocked new guidelines
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Your support makes all the difference.The White House has reversed its position on the Food and Drug Administration’s safety standards for coronavirus vaccines meaning it is highly unlikely any would be cleared before the presidential election, a report has said.
People familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal that the White House has now endorsed the agency’s requirements for a vaccine to be made widely available.
The administration had previously blocked FDA’s plans for strict new federal guidelines for the emergency release of a coronavirus vaccine which were submitted to the Office of Management and Budget more than two weeks ago, The New York Times first reported.
Reports of the barring came after Donald Trump said in late September that the White House “may or may not approve” the new stricter standards and that the introduction of new standards sounds like a “political move”.
The White House had not yet replied to The Independent’s request for comment.
Following the administration’s reported block of their formal release, on Tuesday the FDA published the guidelines on their website which stipulated vaccine developers should follow trial participants for at least two months to rule out safety issues before seeking emergency approval.
The rigorous guidance, which is stricter than those used for emergency clearance of hydroxychloroquine or convalescent plasma aims to build public confidence in the agency and any potential vaccine candidates they authorise.
The FDA said in a statement that they hope the guidance “helps the public understand our science-based decision-making process that assures vaccine quality, safety and efficacy for any vaccine that is authorised or approved.”
It would almost certainly guarantee that no vaccine could be authorised before the election.
Mr Trump has insisted a number of times that a vaccine could be authorised before election day, even though top government scientists had that it would be very unlikely.
Five pharmaceutical companies are in the final stage of testing vaccines with Moderna and Pfizer beginning their trials on 27 July which reached 15,000 of a planned 30,000 participants a month later.
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