The Trump administration’s top health officials and advisers this week adamantly insisted political motivations won’t play into the race to develop a coronavirus vaccine after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notified states to be ready to distribute one to high-priority groups as soon as Nov. 1 — two days before the presidential election.
The CDC deadline has fueled concerns among Democrats and some health officials of political pressures to fast-track vaccine approval at the expense of public safety as President Donald Trump continues to tease the vaccine’s arrival while campaigning for reelection.
“We remain on track to deliver a vaccine before the end of the year and maybe even before November 1,” Trump told reporters on Friday evening at a White House briefing. “We think we can probably have it sometime during the month of October.”
The Trump campaign late Friday also released a new ad campaign called “Great American Comeback,” pushing the promise of a vaccine and kicking off by saying, “In the race for a vaccine, the finish line is approaching.”
“I think what’s happening is you’re gonna see tremendous growth in the very near future. We’re rounding the curve. We’re coming up with vaccines,” Trump said Friday in the Oval Office while touting job numbers. “And the vaccines are gonna come out soon and the therapeutics are continuing, and that’s why we’re having the kind of numbers we have.”
But Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer on Thursday said the public should be cautious the Trump administration may influence the FDA’s decision to approve a COVID-19 vaccine earlier than is safe for political gain.
“Too much of the evidence points to the Trump administration pressuring the FDA to approve a vaccine by Election Day to boost the President’s re-election campaign. This raises serious safety concerns about politics, not science and public health, driving the decision making process,” Schumer said in a statement Thursday. “All Americans want a safe and effective vaccine as soon as possible, but if these important life and death decisions appear political, it will only undermine Americans’ confidence in a vaccine and prolong the pandemic.”
Dr. Paul Offit, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and member of the FDA’s vaccine advisory committee, told The New York Times last month that people “should be” worried about politics influencing the vaccine timeline.
“There are a lot of people on the inside of this process who are very nervous about whether the administration is going to reach their hand into the Warp Speed bucket, pull out one or two or three vaccines, and say, ‘We’ve tested it on a few thousand people, it looks safe, and now we are going to roll it out,’” he said.
“They are really worried about that,” Offit said. “And they should be.”
In an excerpt of an interview with Dana Bash on CNN released Saturday, Sen. Kamala Harris, the vice presidential nominee on the Democratic ticket, said she would “not trust Donald Trump” alone on the efficacy of a vaccine should it be available before Election Day.
When asked if she would get the vaccine if it was approved and distributed before the election, Harris said:
“Well I think that’s going to be an issue for all of us. I will say that I would not trust Donald Trump and it would have to be a credible source of information that talks about the efficacy and the reliability of whatever he’s talking about. I will not take his word for it.”
Addressing criticism that the administration’s timetable on a vaccine might be politically motivated, Trump said he wants a vaccine as soon as October “not because of the election” but “because we want to save people.”
“It will be delivered, in my opinion, before the end of the year,” Trump said at a campaign rally in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, to dozens of unmasked supporters packed together Thursday night. “But it really might even be delivered before the end of October. How would you like that? Wouldn’t that be nice?”
Ultimately, the timeline of the ongoing late-stage vaccine trials is not determined by Trump or his administration. Instead, the timeline will be determined by how rapidly the trials recruit volunteers and how many of those volunteers become infected. Then, independent monitoring boards will make a determination about whether there’s sufficient data to recommend FDA authorization.
While several experts who the president has tasked with working on vaccine development have not completely closed the door on the possibility of a vaccine in October, other officials have said that a vaccine is more likely after the election. Distributing it presents another set of hurdles, but it’s reasonable to have states prepare for distribution earlier, they say.
Timeline on track for a vaccine in late 2020 or early 2021, chances of early vaccine “possible, but not probable”
Surgeon General Jerome Adams on Friday morning, presented with the mixed messages coming from the Trump administration about whether a vaccine could be ready in time for the November election, told ABC’s “Good Morning America” there’s been “no contradictory information.”
“We’ve always said that we’re hopeful for a vaccine by the end of this year or the beginning of next year,” Adams said. “On the chance that the vaccine could be available early, and Dr. [Anthony] Fauci and Dr. [Moncef] Slaoui it’s possible but not probable. We want to make sure states are available to distribute it, hence November 1st recommendations from the CDC just in case it’s ready to quickly get it to the people who most need it.”
Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said one day earlier that any talk of a COVID-19 vaccine being available by late October or November are “guesstimates,” that are not impossible but unlikely.
“If you look at the projection of the enrollment and the kinds of things you’ll need to get a decision about whether the vaccine is safe and effective, most of us project that that’s going to be by November and December, by the end of this year,” he told CNN.
Slaoui, the chief scientific adviser to Operation Warp Speed, Trump’s effort to accelerate production of a coronavirus vaccine, also told NPR Thursday the likelihood of having a vaccine for Election Day is “extremely unlikely, but not impossible,” but that he “firmly” believes vaccine could be ready by the end of the year.
“There is a very, very low chance that the trials that are running as we speak could [be completed] before the end of October and therefore there could be — if all other conditions required for an Emergency Use Authorization are met — an approval,” Slaoui said. “I think it’s extremely unlikely but not impossible, and therefore it’s the right thing to do to be prepared, in case.”
He added that immunizing the entire U.S. population could take until “the middle of 2021.”
CDC asks states to be ready to distribute vaccine by Nov. 1
Three vaccine candidates are in the third and final phase of trials in the U.S., including one that could report sufficient data as soon as next month. Fauci and others have said they don’t expect full results until later in the year and that it would still be months before a vaccine is approved and available to the general public.
So when CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield sent a letter last week to health officials in all 50 states and territories asking them to prepare for a vaccine by Nov. 1, other health officials and Democrats raised concerns that safety measures could be bypassed and that the Food and Drug Administration, traditionally an independent agency protected from political influence, could be pressed to help Trump’s campaign for reelection by delivering on a vaccine.
“CDC urgently requests your assistance in expediting applications for these distribution facilities and, if necessary, asks that you consider waiving requirements that would prevent these facilities from becoming operational by November 1, 2020,” Redfield wrote, adding the expedited process will “not compromise” safety.
The letter comes as officials from the FDA, the agency tasked with approving the vaccine, have left the door open to granting a vaccine emergency authorization to some groups like health care workers before all the data is available, with Commissioner Stephen Hahn telling the Financial Times last month he would be willing to bypass the normal approval process while insisting it has nothing to do with pleasing Trump.
But Peter Marks, the FDA official in charge of the office that oversees vaccines the Center for Biologics and Research, told the Washington Post this week the government intends “not to give the American public anything less than a gold standard” but that it would be unethical to wait for full approval on a vaccine they believe is safe and effective while people are dying.
Politics not at play, officials say
Trump administration officials including FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn have repeatedly pushed back on concerns the agency is losing its independence, saying the president wants to get a vaccine to the American people as quickly as possible but only if it’s done safely. White House Press Secretary Kaleigh McEnany told reporters in a briefing Thursday “no one is pressuring the FDA to do anything.”
Adams on Friday said it “won’t be possible” to put politics ahead of science in the race for a vaccine because of the safeguards in place at the FDA.
“What people need to understand is we have what are called data safety monitoring boards that blind the data and so it won’t be possible to actually move forward unless this independent board thinks that there is good evidence that these vaccines are efficacious and have been through phase one and phase two trials and feel reasonably good about the safety so far,” he said.
Fauci and Hahn have also said Americans shouldn’t be concerned politics will play into the timeline as the FDA has plans to consult with independent advisory boards in place to ensure decisions are made based on the science and data from trials.
In an interview Friday, White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx said, “I know that everybody thinks that we’re rushing for a vaccine, and we are because we want to stop infections and we want to stop this ongoing mortality.”
“There is one reason to have a vaccine and that’s so we can prevent ongoing infections and the mortality that comes from that,” she added.
On the CDC Nov. 1 deadline, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told CBS Thursday it “has nothing to do with elections” but “has to do with delivering safe, effective vaccines to the American people as quickly as possible and saving people’s lives,” on par with comments Chief of Staff Mark Meadows made earlier in the week.
Slaoui, the vaccine chief, noted he only learned of the CDC letter asking state health officials to prepare for a vaccine by Nov. 1 in the news but has insisted he would quit his post if science does not carry the day.
“There is, for us, there is absolutely nothing to do with politics, and many of us may or may not be supportive of this administration. It’s irrelevant, frankly,” he said.
Fauci, too, has defended the integrity of the FDA in the process emphasizing that its decisions will be based on the best available data and that he would feel confident in taking a vaccine himself when it’s approved.
Fauci’s boss, National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins, asked about the CDC preparing to distribute a vaccine as soon as October, said he doesn’t think it’s likely by then but the administration wants states to be prepared.
“This is like the Boy Scout motto, ‘Be Prepared,'” Collins told CNN. “Even if it’s very low likelihood, if everything happened to come together really beautifully and we had an answer by then and we knew we had a vaccine that was safe and effective, wouldn’t you want people to be ready to figure out how to do the distribution? That’s all that CDC is saying.”
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.
Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.
A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”
Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.
“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.
In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”
“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”
Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.
Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.
Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.
“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.
“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.
“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”
Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.
“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”
NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”
“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.
Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.
She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.
Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.
Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.
The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.
Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.
“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.
“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”
The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.
In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.
“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”
In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.
“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”
Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.
Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.
“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”
In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.
In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.
“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”
Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.
“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”
The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.
“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.
“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
