A Financial Times (FT) report has found that the Trump administration has been considering fast-tracking a coronavirus vaccine candidate, developed in the U.K. by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, for use in the United States before the nation’s upcoming presidential election.
One option would involve the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approving Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the experimental vaccine, according to the report.
However, AstraZeneca, a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical company, told the FT that it has not discussed the EUA for its experimental COVID-19 vaccine with the federal government.
Also, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which includes the FDA, told FT that any claim of the administration for the EUA of a vaccine candidate before the election is “absolutely false.”
On Saturday, President Donald Trump accused the FDA, stating that the agency was standing in the way of pharma companies’ efforts to test potential COVID-19 vaccines and treatments due to political reasons.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized Trump’s accusation and called on the FDA to approved vaccines or drugs based on their safety and efficacy and not on political pressure.
She wrote, “The FDA must approve drugs or vaccines based on their safety and effectiveness – NOT political pressure from the White House.”
“The President’s dangerous attempt to inject himself into the scientific decisions of @US_FDA jeopardizes the health & well-being of all Americans,” she added.
The availability of a coronavirus vaccine before the presidential election could allow Trump to justify his administration’s handling of the pandemic, which has so far faced widespread criticism.
On Thursday, former Vice President Joe Biden slammed Trump’s response to the ongoing public health crisis, calling it the “worst performance of any nation on Earth.”
In the United States, the virus has affected more than 5.8 million people and killed over 180,000 so far. On Friday, health officials reported at least 1,100 deaths. Globally, the coronavirus has sickened more than 23.5 million people and killed over 812,000.
