/https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5f5a308555afe3af369abb0a/0x0.jpg?cropX1=0&cropX2=2533&cropY1=51&cropY2=1740&w=1200&resize=1200,800&ssl=1 "62% Of U.S. Adults Fear Political Pressure Will Rush Covid Vaccine")
Topline
More than 60% of adults questioned in a new Kaiser Family Foundation poll said they were worried the Food and Drug Administration will rush to allow a Covid-19 vaccine onto the market because of political pressure; calling into question whether President Trump’s repeated proclamations that a vaccine could be readily available “sooner” than year’s end — even before the November election — is making people nervous.
A health worker puts a nasal swab sample into a tube in a tent at a Covid-19 testing site at St. … [+]
AFP via Getty Images
Key Facts
The concern over political influence is held by 85% of Democrats, 35% of Republicans and 61% of independent voters, according to poll results released Thursday by Kaiser Health News.
The poll, conducted August 28 to September 3, found that more than two-thirds of those questioned — 81% — don’t think a safe and effective vaccine will be approved before Americans head to the polls in 53 days.
Even if it was more than half — 54% — would say ‘no thank you,’ the poll found; with 60% of Republicans saying ‘no’ compared with 46% of Democrats and 56% of Independent voters.
Only 42% of those questioned would be willing to get a vaccine approved by the FDA before the election, even if it was free, showing the deep skepticism that many in the U.S. have about the influence of politics in bringing a Covid-19 vaccine to market.
Concerns about safety and speed have been top of mind this week as pharma giant AstraZeneca announced an abrupt pause to its late-stage vaccine trials after a participant suffered a serious reaction; that follows repeated proclamations by President Trump that a vaccine could be available by the end of the year “or sooner,” and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advising states to be ready to distribute a vaccine by Nov. 1.
American acceptance of a vaccine will be crucial to stopping the spread of the virus which was responsible for 190,885 deaths in the U.S. as of Thursday, according to Johns Hopkins; another step recommended by health professionals to slow the spread — wearing masks — became a big political issue in the United States, leading to at times deadly altercations in public spaces and a reluctance of many Republican governors to issue mask mandates.
Tangent
The participant whose adverse reaction prompted a global shutdown of AstraZeneca’s Phase 3 Covid-19 vaccine trials was a woman in the United Kingdom who experienced neurological symptoms consistent with a rare but serious spinal inflammatory disorder called transverse myelitis, the drug maker’s chief executive, Pascal Soriot, said during a private conference call with investors, according to the website Stat. The woman was said to be improving, Soriot said.
Key Background
The United States leads the world in Covid-19 cases — 6.36 million as of Thursday — and has since early on in the pandemic, which took off in the nation in the spring. Health experts have repeatedly noted that steps such as social distancing, avoiding large gathers and mask-wearing could help slow the spread of deadly disease. But those suggestions have been met with derision by some who don’t want to be ordered to be safe. A new study by the IZA Institute of Labor Economics on the 10-day Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota in August suggests that the event, deemed a “superspreader,” added an estimated 267,000 coronavirus cases nationwide, according to media reports. The report has been criticized by the state’s governor.
Further Reading
Poll: As Covid-19 Vaccine Nears, Public Losing Confidence In Trump’s FDA (Forbes)
AstraZeneca Puts Phase 3 Vaccine Trial On Hold, Shares Drop 6% (Forbes)
Most Adults Wary of Taking Any Vaccine Approved Before the Election (Kaiser Health News)
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