Not everyone supports Donald Trump or shares his political vision. But it’s hard to deny that his promise of a COVID-19 vaccine by Election Day (November 3) was appealing. And yet, many in the medical community doubted the promise from the start.
After all, the process of developing a safe and effective vaccine is long and can sometimes involve long delays while potential serious side effects are investigated, something we saw recently with AstraZeneca-Oxford’s coronavirus vaccine trial pause.
Although the need for a COVID-19 vaccine has spurred research and testing at unprecedented speeds, experts believe a realistic date for a vaccine would still be sometime next year at best.
Now, the FDA has reinforced these ideas, by tightening restrictions around COVID-19 vaccine testing. The new rules mean that there won’t be a vaccine by November 3. The news is a disappointment to many of us, very much including Trump, who saw it as a political statement.
In the end, the White House has had to admit that the FDA has a point, all political opinions aside. And while that’s further confirmation that we’re going to be in this pandemic for a lot longer than some had hoped, at least it also shows that, bold campaign promises aside, health regulations are being taken seriously.
When a COVID-19 vaccine finally is ready, it will be the safest, most effective one humans can create – regardless of who’s in office.
Read on to learn more about the FDA’s new vaccine development guidelines and their effect on the hoped-for coronavirus vaccine deadline.
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Contact our writer – Alysa Salzberg
