Gov. Cuomo Now Complaining that Vaccine Process Is Moving Too 'Fast'https://townhall.com/tipsheet/cortneyobrien/2020/11/18/gov-cuomo-now-complaining-that-vaccine-process-is-moving-too-fast-n2580293On Wednesday Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) lamented how lawmakers are putting politics over people's lives when it comes to the coronavirus vaccine. Pfizer announced that their vaccine candidate, developed with BioNTech, is 95 percent effective after its Phase 3 study. It's news to celebrate, and Operation Warp Speed, the public-private partnership introduced by the Trump administration, deserves some credit. But liberal politicians like Gov. Andrew Cuomo just can't bring themselves to utter the words, "good job."
Instead, he's now complaining that the process is moving too "fast."
“Why is it moving so fast?" Gov. Cuomo asked on Hot 97’s Ebro in the Morning radio show on Tuesday. "Two reasons: money and ego. The first drug company that has the vaccine, that is big money."
He expanded on the "ego" argument.
"President, it’s ego. On the way out the door he wants to be able to say, ‘I solved COVID because I discovered a vaccine. Nah, it’s all BS. He didn’t do anything,†Cuomo continued.
“It’s the drug companies and nobody is going to trust him saying it’s a safe vaccine. But you’re going to see this play out, they’ll do what’s called an emergency authorization by the FDA.â€
Ignorance That Should Be Painful, Part 1: Pfizer has a contract that was signed in July, before it could be foreseen whether Pfizer would be first, second, or third to receive an EUA. Moderna has a contract that was signed in August, before it could be foreseen whether Moderna would be first, second, or third to receive an EUA. AstraZeneca has a contract that was signed in May, before it could be foreseen whether AstraZeneca would be first, second, or third to receive an EUA. Johnson & Johnson has a contract signed in August, when it was known to be probable that J & J would be no earlier than third or fourth to receive EUA. Novavax has a contract signed in July, when it was known to be probable that Novavax would be no earlier than third or fourth to receive EUA. Being first, second, third, fourth, or fifth does not affect these contracts. Nor is there a premium for being first to receive EUA. As for prestige, where Pfizer appears likely to be first to receive EUA from the FDA, AstraZeneca may be first to be approved in the UK, and Moderna is being reviewed for approval with multiple European countries, IOW, there very likely will not be one company that was first in all major western countries.
Ignorance That Should Be Painful, Part 2: The Trump Administration has been enabling vaccine development and testing since January, because they knew then, as they know now, that having a safe and effective vaccine is a key to neutralizing much of the danger of Covid-19. That isn't ego, it's hard, urgently pursued work toward the good of the US (and other countries as well).
Ignorance That Should Be Painful, Part 3: The FDA set end points in the vaccine test protocols that must be completed successfully in order to obtain EUA. No amount of "pressure" from Trump will move those goalposts, and in the cases of Pfizer and Moderna, their independent Data Monitoring Committees have determined that those end point goals have been met. The only reason Cuomo thinks approvals are moving too fast - aside from Cuomo simply knowingly lying - is that he has kept himself ignorant of the months-long (nearly a year in Moderna's case) progress of the various vaccines.
