Fauci Warns The US Government Not To Hurry In Provision Of The COVID-19 Vaccine

JAKARTA - The United States (US) renowned infectious disease expert, Anthony Fauci, warned of the dangers of the idea of authorizing emergency use for the COVID-19 vaccine. He explained that the move could undermine efforts to develop other vaccines.

His comments came as White House officials had raised the likelihood of early emergency authorization before the final COVID-19 vaccine trials were completed. Michael Caputo, assistant secretary of public affairs at the US Department of Health and Human Services denied that efforts to accelerate vaccine development are part of a political goal.

"One of the potential dangers if you dispense the vaccine prematurely is to make it difficult. Even making it impossible, other vaccines are enrolling volunteers in their trials," Fauci said.

Several vaccines are being tested in the US and the company is working to increase production while testing is ongoing. So that if the vaccine is proven safe and effective, it can be distributed immediately.

US President Donald Trump has promised that a vaccine will be available by the end of this year, although vaccine experts say the timeline is unrealistic. Although Trump has commented that a vaccine could be ready 'much sooner' before the end of the year, a senior administration official close to the US COVID-19 task force said the timetable for a vaccine remains the same: it is available early next year.

On Saturday August 22, Trump hurled accusations without any evidence at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). He said that the FDA had deliberately postponed trials of the corona virus vaccine.

"Conditions inside, or anyone else, at the FDA make it very difficult for drug companies to get people to test vaccines and therapeutics," Trump said on Twitter. He said that there were circumstances in the government bureaucracy against him being re-elected as US president.

"Obviously, they hope to postpone their answer until after November 3. Must focus on speed, and save lives!" said Trump.

The comments did not dispel the fears of some experts and Americans that the government is rushing to prepare a vaccine at the expense of science and safety. A CNN poll found a third of Americans said they would not try the COVID-19 vaccination, even if the vaccine was widely available and cheap.

In addition, vaccine experts worry that the White House is putting pressure on the FDA to issue vaccines under emergency use authorization rules before they are fully tested.

“I would be very worried about using an emergency use authorization mechanism for something like a vaccine. This is very different from plasma therapy, "said Dr. Peter Hotez, infectious disease expert and vaccine researcher at Baylor College of Medicine.

Fauci explained that emergency use authorizations in the US are typically used for products that can "diagnose, prevent and treat serious or life-threatening illnesses where the known benefits outweigh the potential risks of the product." It may be possible to authorize emergency use once research has demonstrated its safety and effectiveness.

In addition, the FDA must also complete a formal review of corporate marketing applications. "For me, it is very important that you definitively demonstrate that the vaccine is safe and effective," Fauci said. "We hope that nothing interferes with the full demonstration related to the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine," he concluded.