SCIENCE WRITER TELLS US CITIZENS: DON’T TAKE TRUMP’S VACCINE

Renowned science writer Laurie Garrett has warned all US citizens that Trump’s COVID-19 vaccine cannot be trusted and if this vaccine “comes out before the election, there are very good reasons not to take it.”

In an article in Foreign Policy on September 4, 2020, Garrett, a former senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and a Pulitzer Prize winning science writer, said Trump has ordered his officials to prepare the vaccination facilities on or before Nov. 1, even though none of the more than 150 vaccines in the research pipeline worldwide have completed Phase 3 safety and efficacy clinical trials. “In a pell-mell rush to get COVID-19 treatments, tests, policies, and vaccines out before the November election, the credibility of America’s most vital and usually trusted health agencies has been undermined. Under direct pressure from Peter Navarro, Assistant to the President, Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, and the national Defense Production Act policy coordinator, as well as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Vice President Mike Pence and the president himself, agency directors have buckled, going against their own scientific expertise to yield to White House demands. There is little reason remaining for the American people to trust pandemic guidelines or policy decisions handed down by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the CDC, or the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),” she added.

Reacting to what Garrett said was a “mad sprint to Election Day,” the developers of the vaccine, including AstraZeneca, Moderna, Johnson&Johnson, Pfizer, Sanofi and Novavaxx, have pledged not to release their vaccines until they have completed the trials and guaranteed the high efficacy and safety of their vaccines. “Like most experts closely watching these developments, I have no confidence that a safe, effective vaccine will be ready for use by Halloween. Worse, I can no longer recommend that anyone retain faith in any public health pronouncements issued by government agencies,” Garrett argued.

“Let’s be crystal clear about this: No American or European putative vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 virus has completed Phase 3 clinical safety and efficacy trials. Even the front-runners, such as products in development by AstraZeneca in the UK or by American companies Pfizer, Moderna, Novavax, or Johnson&Johnson, are still signing up volunteers for their clinical trials, which are expected to involve at least 30,000 people per potential vaccine. Having a vaccine adequately tested and ready for review on Oct. 22, when the Food and Drug Administration’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee plans to meet, will be a heavy lift for all companies,” she concluded.