Thread by @EricTopol

Only 2 countries have given any approval to a #SARSCoV2 vaccine before there was clear evidence of safety and efficacy—Russia and China.
Now @SteveFDA has made it clear he intends US will be the 3rd. The man with no credibility saying that it isn't related to Trump's reelection.

It is f-ing outrageous to expedite *any* approval of a #SARSCoV2 vaccine, irrespective of @SteveFDA's subservience to Trump
We will not know about safety for many months after full enrollment. Some people may have serious untoward reactions (ADE or immune complex dz) when exposed

We will not know about efficacy for many months because it takes time and adequate statistical power to determine whether there is a difference in infection rates for vaccine vs placebo
thelancet.com/journals/lance…

Any shortcuts—warped speed—will imperil the ultimate roll out of the vaccine, lose the public trust for getting immunized, which is already compromised. This could jeopardize all the extraordinary progress of the vaccine programs, no less the US exit strategy to pre-covid life.

Here's a window into what the public thinks about vaccine shortcuts and political interference
statnews.com/pharmalot/2020… by @pharmalot @statnews