The most dangerous Tweet

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.

“The deep state, or whoever, over at the FDA is making it very difficult for drug companies to get people in order to test the vaccines and therapeutics,” the president wrote. “Obviously, they are hoping to delay the answer until after November 3rd. Must focus on speed, and saving lives!”

Can you imagine the level of paranoia that would let someone who is in a position of power think this? It’s more than an embarrassment it’s criminal and shows a level of ignorance that baffles the mind.

According to STAT news the response was swift “politics must stay out of the conduct and interpretation of clinical trials aimed at evaluating the efficacy and safety of COVID vaccines, as public trust in the results is paramount to ending the pandemic,” said John Maraganore, the chief executive of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals”.

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Many people fear that Mr. Trump will put pressure on the US Food and Drug Administration to quickly approve a vaccine before the election as evidenced by the FDA’s decision to allow the use of hydroxychloroquine — a disproved drug touted by the president — to treat the virus before it performed a U-turn after several studies showed the medicine did not benefit patients.

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A growing number of “vaccine hesitant” Americans who have not previously identified with the anti-vaxxer are mistrustful of Operation Warp Speed, a sprawling federally-funded effort that has paid billions of dollars to drug companies — including $1.2bn to AstraZeneca and $1.6bn to Novavax — to manufacture hundreds of millions of doses of their vaccine “at risk” or without full clinical trials in advance of definitive data. To them manufacturing without full trials is dangerous.

Polls show that as the pandemic has continued, US citizens have become less confident about the safety of a vaccine. Polling by YouGov in May found that around 55 percent of US adults said they would get a Covid-19 vaccine. By the end of July, that figure had dropped to 41 percent — well below the 60-70 percent public health experts think will be needed to achieve “herd immunity”.

The last thing we need right now is ANY public official throwing mud at the FDA. It could lead to more people getting sick and dying. Can November really be that far away?