KEY PONTIFICATION: If the coronavirus vaccine is 75 percent effective—which would be excellent, considering that the flu shot is only about 50 percent effective—roughly two-thirds of the population would need to be vaccinated, according to Paul Offit, the director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. But with 50% of the population now saying they won’t get a vaccine we could be in for a mask-wearing culture for a long time.
COVID Vaccine
NOT AGAIN: America, at one time, was seen as the leader of the free world but with our democracy comes a huge dose of stupidity. And where are the voices of reason? Where is pharma? Where are insurers?
OK, NOW WHAT? J&J’s COVID vaccine is being promoted by the media to have a 98% immune system response. Will it lead to an early approval with limited testing or will J&J ensure the vaccine goes thru thorough testing?
IN SHORT: Pharma companies have finally banded together to ask the FDA to better regulate any new drug approvals including a possible new COVID vaccine. Why? Six in 10 Americans worry political pressure from the administration will lead the FDA to rush vaccine approval before confirming it’s safe and effective, the Kaiser Family Foundation has found. And only about 4 in 10 would get the vaccine, even if it were free if the FDA approved it before the election.
IN SHORT: It may be too late for pharma to persuade the public that any COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective as the FDA continues to be a political baseball in play.
When trust in the FDA declines our whole population is at risk. Ignorance should never be replaced by politics and it’s up to every drug company CEO, health insurer, PBM, and physician to make it known that politics will ver, ever, play a role in drug approvals.
QUICK READ: Today Trump suggested that the FDA is part of a “deep state” conspiracy to delay a COVID-19 vaccine until after the election. This is beyond irresponsible and clearly shows that he is unfit mentally to hold office.
QUICK READ: As COVID-19 vaccines enter Phase III trials one has to wonder just how transparent pharma companies will be with the data. Personally I would want to know as much as I can before I ask for the vaccine but I also know that greed can make people do stupid things and there is a lot of money at stake here.