Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar said Thursday that the development of a COVID-19 vaccine by Nov. 1 is unrelated to the presidential election two days later.
Azar’s comments came during an interview with “CBS This Morning,” a day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) asked states to prepare sites for vaccine distribution by Nov. 1 according to CNBC.
The CDC asked states in an Aug. 27 letter to quickly prepare to receive and process permits from the medical supply company McKesson, per the CNBC report.
HHS Secretary Azar says Nov. 1 coronavirus vaccine deadline has ‘nothing to do with elections’ https://t.co/PmHLqszKRm
— CNBC (@CNBC) September 3, 2020
“Nobody involved in this process is ever going to compromise on making sure that a product someone puts in their body is safe and effective,” Azar said.
Azar maintained the Nov. 3 election is not a factor in the timeline.
“It has nothing to do with elections. This has to do with delivering safe, effective vaccines to the American people as quickly as possible and saving people’s lives,” Azar said during the interview.
“Whether it’s Oct. 15, whether it’s Nov. 1, whether it’s Nov 15, it’s all about saving lives but meeting the FDA standards of safety and efficacy,” Azar added.
White House Coronavirus Task Force member Dr. Anthony Fauci said Thursday he would take the vaccine if approved by the FDA, according to The Hill. (Related: Fauci Says ‘Safe And Effective’ Coronavirus Vaccine To Be Developed By End Of Year)
“I mean the FDA has been very explicit that they are going to make a decision based on the data as it comes in. These trials have these independent data and safety monitoring boards that intermittently look at the data,” he said.
“So I think that we can have some confidence and have faith in what the FDA is saying. They’re saying very explicitly that they’re going to be making the decision based on the scientific data. And we hope that that’s going to be the case,” he added, per The Hill.