Rush to Vaccinate
The CDC tells states Get Ready for November 1.
The date suggests the federal government anticipates a vaccine will become available just days before President Donald Trump stands for reelection Nov. 3, an aggressive goal that would depend on shots being tested and reviewed by then.
Trump has previously said that he thinks a vaccine will be ready by Election Day or soon before. He’s also accused staff at the Food and Drug Administration of slowing vaccine work to hurt him politically. The claims have raised questions about political interference in vaccine reviews; FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn has promised repeatedly that science will guide any decisions.
Emergency FDA Permit
Michael Fraser, chief executive officer of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials said a FDA emergency-use authorization would likely be needed to distribute a vaccine that soon. The designation allows the agency to use limited data to make a vaccine available for a narrower group of people. The health officials association “would be extremely concerned about a vaccine hasn’t completed Phase 3 trials,” Fraser said.
What Can Go Wrong?
Among the obvious ramifications, the vaccine might not work, it might make people sick from side effects, and it could even make the virus itself worse for unknown reasons.
The not-so-obvious implication is that it could backfire spectacularly on Trump.
It is clear Trump is rushing a vaccine for political purposes. He is willing to gamble on lives to win an election.
The irony is Trump is pushing for a vaccine although he talks as if the virus is now much ado about nothing.
Mish
“The irony is Trump is pushing for a vaccine”
Trump’s role is obviously passive, passing on the info that he received. His attempt to get in front of a Gates vaccine parade is a blunder. I’m still waiting on doubtful reports that he’s threatened to fire anyone if they move too slow. But he will take credit if a vaccine works out well. I for one, will avoid it like the plague. Keep slim, take Vit D, keep Zinc & Quercetin handy. If one succumbs, Google Ivermectin for one treatment, Budesonide for another.
Murphy’s Laws says that if something could go wrong, then it will go wrong. Rushing a vaccine certainly could go wrong, so wait for disaster!
Perusing the reactions of young healthy people to the vaccine trials so far, it seems that the reaction in many cases is worse than with the asymptomatic or subclinical reactions of people actually exposed to the virus. What will happen when giving it to the frail or children? It has not been established that vaccination is going to be a solution worse than the disease …
Count me among the rabid pro-vaccination crowd. I am also staunchly opposed to Trump being re-elected. I also want to do everything I reasonably can to help end this pandemic. There is NO WAY I am taking that vaccine as long as it is rolled out without full vetting. I am not rolling any dice with my health or my life. Period.
A perfectly reasonable position. And I’m not taking any rushed-on-the-fly vaccine either. However, proper vetting requires years not months. By which time, the much maligned herd immunity will have happened, like it or not. And there won’t be much need for a vaccine.
Any idiot can see Trump has pushed CDC and FDA to rush a vaccine in time for the election. What could go wrong?
They seem to have forgotten they need public buy in.
I don’t understand the strategy here:
So I see a bunch of potential downsides and not a whole lot of upside to rushing this before the election
The strategy is throwing shit up against the walls of the white house and seeing if it sticks.
It allows Trump to check a box
(4) He doesn’t care if it takes months to deploy or if it’s ever deployed. People won’t know until after the election.
(2) & (1) His base is already voting for him. This is a last-ditch effort to get votes from people who hate both Trump and Biden and will otherwise throw away their vote.
It will not backfire, at least not before election day. Say Trump announce vaccine ready for healthcare workers on Nov 1. There are then sufficient number of idiots, certainly in the swing states, to guarantee a Trump win. With just 2 days to election, even bad vaccines will only show its bad effects weeks after election. This is a great move by Trump. Beauty of Democracy, folks.
By rushing a vaccine, tRump has a win-win (double wins) for himself: 1. by announcing the availability of the vac before the election, he creates a positive/optimistic attitude of the populace toward him; 2. after the election, if the vac actually works well, it’s another win; but if it fails, he can blame the FDA for approving the vac.
If Trump is involved, it is always a lose-lose for the American people whether they realize it or not.
RE: “By rushing a vaccine, tRump has a win-win (double wins) for himself:”
You got one thing right … everything Trump ever does is for himself …
Here’s what can go wrong.
Gerald Ford Rushed Out a Vaccine. It Was a Fiasco.
Trump should keep that in mind as he pushes for a coronavirus shot.
Sept. 2, 2020
A rule of thumb for you regarding Pandemic response is that if you wait until all the data is in so that you can make a perfect decision, it’s too late for your decision to matter. Pandemics must be addressed early if they are being contained. Yes, 30 people died from the 45 million that got the shot, which is not a good thing. On the other hand, you’re the one saying that 200,000 people dead from Covid is no big deal, so it’s a bit surprising to hear you call the loss of 30 people “A Fiasco”.
In any case, I don’t think the Swine Flu vaccination drive played any role in the election. Ford lost for several reasons, none of which were virus related:
This seems like Trump’s opportunity for self-sabotage. Even if the vaccine works reasonably well, if he pushes it aggressively he will alienate a sizable portion of his base.
Between the people who think Covid is a hoax, to those who think all vaccines are a hoax, to those who just don’t like the government telling them what to do (other than bending over for the Fed or supporting war, where they are strangely silent), these groups add up to a LOT of people.
I am positive, a lot of those people who claim those hoaxes, have no idea the FED exists, or think it’s a big bank.
Then there are those who are capable of logical thinking, and reason that this or that (FED) cannot be that stupid or incompetent, so there must be some conspiracy behind it.
The simple explanation is sometimes the correct one.
Occam’s Razor. The explanation is usually simple but what some people can’t understand is the interaction of multiple systems. If you think everything is a conspiracy then you have to believe that government must be in on everything. But these same people who believe this also believe that government is incompetent and unnecessary. It can’t be both but the complexity of interacting systems is too difficult for them to contemplate. In ancient times, people fell back on religion when they couldn’t explain something. Today the internet’s conspiracy theories are the same thing.
“In ancient times, people fell back on religion when they couldn’t explain something. Today the internet’s conspiracy theories are the same thing.”
Difference being, proper religions (as opposed to the Jones, “finance” and progressive cults) have been vetted over millennia of competitive evolution.
Which the idiots bumbling around insisting they are “more scientific and empirical now”, if they could read, would realize carries some weight empirically…
But hey, I suppose “believing in evolution” in no way presupposes understanding even a sliver of what it entails…. Besides, what does “understand” have to do with “making money off my home?”
It doesn’t have to make sense…they’re cultists. Their orange Jesus can do no wrong.
We already have: People think you just cannot sacrifice enough to the Corona god to appease Him. We’re already sacrificing children and letting them go hungry.
Conspiracy theorists I have met believe that government is more the middleman. They believe in some all-powerful conspiracy that attempts to control government, and which is often, but not always successful in doing so.
Isn’t the Moderna vaccine developed with Astra Zeneca?
Phase 1 trials should determine whether the vaccine is harmful, or not.
I know people who claim Flu shots make them sick, and don’t take them. There will always be some who will have some minor side effects.
Phase 1 trials only provide a first assessment of safety in a small group of people. It is just the beginning of safety testing. Phase 2 and 3 continue to evaluate safety in larger groups. A serious side effect in 1 out of 1000 people can be a big problem for a vaccine that’s given to >100 million people, but one typically won’t see this until Phase 3 (when tens of thousands of people are vaccinated). So, it is important to finish the Phase 3 trial before giving a vaccine to the public.
Side effects are similar to flu vaccine. I work medical. Mish, stick to economic topics and stop playing Fauci. Trump is right. The Russians already have a vaccine out and Chinese are on brink. What do you want? The economy in rambles and all this womanly handwringing? No more waiting. Several vaccines have been tested already in Phase 2 and I believe Moderna is in Phase 3. Get ’em out!!!
as of 9/2/2020
… So far the published data on the two mRNA vaccines is very modest – we know 2 doses will be required and the published data is on only 15 volunteers who received 2 doses of the Moderna vaccine and 12 volunteers the Pfizer vaccine, or 10 the Astra Zeneca vaccine…
Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD,
@BCM_TropMed , @TexasChildrens , Univ Prof @Baylor @tamu @PLOSNTDs
Vaccine Scientist-Pediatrician-Author, Prof Dean
Hagler Inst Advanced Study
Founding Editor