The Trump Administration is eyeing to launch a fast-tracking covid vaccine before the November 3 elections, the Financial Times reported.
The vaccine developed by AstraZeneca with Oxford University is to be pitched for the use in the US ahead of the elections. Before the launching the vaccine for the public use, Trump would have to seek permission from the US Food and Drug Administration(FDA) for “emergency use autorisation” (EUA) in October. That authorization would be based on the U.K. study that, even if successful, would not meet the requirements for the approval of a vaccine.
Earlier, top administration official in a meeting had told congressional leaders that they were likely to award approval for a vaccine candidate before it conducts phase 3 clinical trials in the United States.The administration officials said that the AstraZeneca vaccine developed with Oxford University was the most likely candidate to get approval, reported FT.
The AstraZeneca has enrolled 10,000 volunteers to study the results of the vaccine. However, the US government’s specific agencies have said that a vaccine should at least be studied among 30,000 people to pass the approval. AstraZeneca will also be conducting a larger trial, but that would be experimented after the results of smaller trial.
Trump’s approach to launch the vaccine ahead of the presidential elections could be his claim to win over the US citizens who have brutally suffered amid the pandemic. However, if the Trump administration rushes to launch the vaccine irrespective of its approval from the FDA, it could dent the already enraged public over safety issues.
The United States remains worst-hit country hit by the coronavirus pandemic with more than 170,000 Americans dead.
