VACCINE APPROVAL NEWS: The Pfizer vaccine was approved in the UK. Expect the Oxford/AZ to be approved next week in the UK.
This is significant for some obvious and not so obvious reasons. 1/
The obvious first.
This is one of the biggest wins for mankind & science in my lifetime certainly. 1.5 million people have died. That won’t be 3 million or 4 million. If we do it right, it won’t be 2 million. 2/
Second— for anyone who wonders whether US politics is playing a role in approval of these vaccines, this should be extremely reassuring. In fact, I hope this is case closed.
Third— some in the White House are apparently fuming that the UK beat us. There are reasons they did, but it’s more concerning that people are bothered by this.
They beat us because they reviewed rolling data submissions. But it will be by a week or two.
The US mentality of needing to be America first is part of the reason we are in this mess.
Very simply: we won’t follow. And it’s us against the world, not us with the world.
These approvals should be celebrated, build confidence, provide hope and unify.
The next #inthebubble will be a toolkit on where & when vaccines will get to you.
NEW: Co-chairs for Biden pandemic response named. There aren’t 2 better people that could have been named. 1/
The first is @vivek_murthy, who will be the next US Surgeon General. Vivek served in this role during the Obama Admin along with me. The role is even more important now. 2/
Vivek brings the clinical, scientific & public-facing communication needed for the job. But Vivek us also a special human being— thinking about the whole person, mental health, loneliness. 3/
COVID Update December 2: There’s only so long you can be indifferent to people dying before people figure out you’re an asshole. 1/
In a public health emergency, you don’t need a bad guy. After all the pathogen is the real problem. 2/
And there’s a legit discussion one could have about the wisdom of lockdowns, the cost on the economy, on isolation, and on the fatigue of the public. 3/