President-elect Joe Biden Biden's team will meet with drug companies developing Covid-19 vaccines, according to his chief of staff.
“We’re going to have meetings between our top scientific advisors and the officials of these drug companies,” Ron Klain, Biden’s newly selected chief of staff, said. Other leading companies with Covid-19 vaccine candidates in late-stage clinical trials include Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca.
Klain, in an interview on MSNBC’s “Meet the Press,” said that Biden’s top health officials are not able to coordinate with federal government employees until the General Services Administration officially confirms the transition process.
The meetings with drug companies developing Covid-19 vaccines come as President Donald Trump refuses to concede the U.S. presidential election, though he mentioned in a Tweet that Biden had won.
Despite limited access, Klain said Biden’s team will meet with the drug makers, including Pfizer.
On November 10, according to Pfizer and BioNTech’s statement, their coronavirus vaccine was more than 90% effective in responding to Covid-19 among those without proof of prior infection. They consider the development as “a great day for science and humanity.”
According to Pfizer and BioNTech’s statement, their coronavirus vaccine was more than 90% effective in responding to Covid-19 among those without proof of prior infection. They consider the development as “a great day for science and humanity.”
Pfizer’s findings were based on the initial interim efficacy analysis held by an external and independent Data Monitoring Committee from phase three clinical study. The group monitors U.S. clinical trials to make sure that participants are safe.
The analysis studied 94 confirmed Covid-19 infections among the trial’s 43,538 respondents. Pfizer and its German biotech partner explained the case split between vaccinated persons and those who took a placebo suggested a vaccine efficacy rate of above 90% at seven days after the second dose.
“The bigger issue will be the mechanics of manufacture and distribution, getting this vaccine out,” Klain said, noting the importance of collaboration between Biden’s transition team collaborates and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services “as quickly as possible.”
HHS has been supervising the development, manufacturing, and release of coronavirus vaccines as part of Operation Warp Speed. A spokesperson for the agency was not able to give a comment about the matter.
“There are people at HHS making plans to implement that vaccine. Our experts need to talk to those people as soon as possible so nothing drops in this change of power we’re going to have on January 20th,” Klain said.
“It’s great to have a vaccine, but vaccines don’t save lives. Vaccinations save lives,” Klain said on Sunday. “And that means you’ve got to get that vaccine into people’s arms all over this country. It’s a giant logistical project.”
Is vaccine enough to end the pandemic?
White House coronavirus advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said that vaccine is not enough to eradicate the coronavirus.
“I think the opposite. … I really do” Dr. Fauci said. “The cavalry is coming but don’t put your weapons down, you better keep fighting because they are not here yet. Help is on the way, but it isn’t here yet.”
“So to me, that is more of an incentive of, ‘Please don’t give up. Don’t despair, the end is in sight,’ as opposed to: ‘Hey, we are good to go, don’t worry about anything.’ We are not good to go. We have got to continue to double down on public health measures,” he added about vaccine being not enough in terms of controlling the outbreaks.
