EU will fast-track a coronavirus vaccine that could be ready before the election

[Chris Smith]

• The only coronavirus vaccine candidate that still has a chance of being approved for emergency use by election day is being fast-tracked in Europe as well.
• Moderna and AstraZeneca face a few delays and setbacks in the US, making approvals by November 3rd highly unlikely.
• Pfizer and BioNTech said in the past they might be ready to seek emergency approval in the US. The EU is now in the process of fast-tracking the Pfizer vaccine.

Coronavirus vaccine research advanced at tremendous speed this year, fueled by worldwide interest in developing the drug that might end the pandemic. Hundreds of candidates have been announced, and about a dozen of them have reached the final testing stage. But as vaccines entered the key Phase 3 of research, they became incredibly politicized. Competition between countries prompted Russia to launch a vaccine for public use in August, a controversial move given the experimental drug's lack of data. Multiple reports from China indicated that several of the country's vaccines in the final stage of testing were given to the public. Unlike Russia, China provided a steady stream of research that detailed its experimental drugs' efficacy and safety. Simultaneously, the Trump administration turned vaccines into a political weapon, with some experts worrying that Trump would pressure the FDA to approve one of the three frontrunners in time for the presidential election.

FDA officials and Dr. Anthony Fauci pushed back, stressing that vaccine research would not bypass safety rigors. Separately, several of the leading vaccine developers signed a pledge not to skirt safety and respect the scientific process. Two of the three leading drugs that had a chance of being approved for emergency use in America by November 3rd seem to be out of the race. It’s unclear whether the third one has a chance to reach regulatory approval by the end of November, but the European Union is fast-tracking the same experimental drug.

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EU will fast-track a coronavirus vaccine that could be ready before the election originally appeared on BGR.com on Tue, 6 Oct 2020 at 22:15:17 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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