COVID-19 vaccine politicization affects Americans’ confidence

The race to find a vaccine against COVID-19 resumes. However, in the United States, the crossovers between President Donald Trump and the Democrats have generated a deep distrust among citizens. A new survey shows how Americans are becoming increasingly reluctant to get a vaccine as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus’s latest survey indicates that 60% of those surveyed have no intention of accessing the first generation of the vaccine. This is in comparison to 39% previously. Today the US continues to be the epicenter of the pandemic. The number of infections in the country now exceeds 7 million, and more than 200,000 deaths have been registered.

On Wednesday, Johnson & Johnson, an American multinational corporation, announced that its potential vaccine was entering Phase 3 of clinical trials. AstraZeneca (University of Oxford), Moderna, and Pfizer (BioNTech) have already begun testing, among other pharmaceutical and biotechnological companies. The severity of the situation has caused many companies to accelerate the development of the vaccine. Cases continue to rise under cover of emergency clearance from regulators.

 Politicians spread mistrust in the coronavirus vaccines

Initially, the FDA will ask drug companies to follow participants’ progress in ongoing clinical tests for at least two months after their second injection before seeking emergency clearance. So it is unlikely that a it will have approval before November 3.

There are no signs of FDA or entities that are making a vaccine are undermining safety in their clinical trials. Nine major pharmaceutical companies announced earlier this month their commitment to submitting any vaccine against the US regulator until all clinical testing procedures have been completed. 

By transmitting mistrust in the process, politicians can make it more difficult to convince Americans to get the vaccine once see that it is safe and effective.

Robert Redfield is the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He already lowered expectations about the possibility that a vaccine could be available next month. Still, Pfizer has said it could seek its vaccine’s regulatory approval as early as next month if the first data from phase 3 of its clinical trial is strong.

On Tuesday, Dr. Stephen Hahn, US Food and Drug Administration commissioner, made it clear to the Senate that decisions to authorize or approve any vaccine will be made FDA staff based on a scientific decision. He was also willing to allow an external panel of experts to review the trial results.