After the genetic sequence of Covid-19 was publicized on January 11, 2020, vaccines have been in the works. One particular pharmaceutical company, AstraZeneca, has made impressive progress in creating an effective vaccine, as it is on the Phase 3 level testing. This is raising the hopes of millions of Americans.
The Guardian reports that ahead of the 2020 election "Trump's seeming ability to manipulate the key federal agencies involved in vaccine approval has given credibility to the scenario of a vaccine surprise," thus implying that politicians are pressuring a quicker-than-usual release of a vaccine. The article goes on the state that the hope for the vaccine can "convince enough swing voters" thus influencing the 2020 election. Because of this, many worry that pressure applied by politicians has rushed the creation of a vaccine, thus compromising safety.
Last week increased such safety concerns when AstraZeneca halted all progress in Phase 3 Testing. While AstraZeneca and any affiliated parties have not publically issued an explanation, The New York Times reports that in a closed meeting, it was revealed that a patient given the vaccine "experienced serious neurological symptoms."
Some individuals had a positive outlook on this: Marie-Paule Kieny of INSERM said this pause in testing "shows that there are functioning checks and balances, in spite of political pressure" and safety is being regulated in this way.
Yesterday, Sept. 14 at 14:20 BST, AstraZeneca released a statement stating that "Clinical trials for the AstraZeneca Oxford coronavirus vaccine, AZD1222, have resumed."
I think that an important question remains, are "checks and balances" enough to ensure the safe creation of vaccines? Are companies actually rushing their creation?
2 comments:
While hearing that AstraZeneca is pausing trials when significant errors do occur with the Coronavirus vaccine, the political pressure that is influencing the development of this vaccine still makes me very nervous. How will political pressure play into experimenter virus throughout the trials that are occurring? Does the speedy timeline of this vaccine and testing influence the experimenters to disregard certain "red flags" during trials that may be more appropriately addressed in less high-stakes tests?
Also, while many are blaming the politicians for their role in rushing pharmaceutical labs, I don't believe we can really blame the potential failures of a rushed vaccine entirely on our politicians. While politicians may be pressuring pharmaceutical companies for political gain, the rest of the world is also desperately awaiting a vaccine. COVID-19 is bigger than just the US election. AstraZeneca and any other companies are likely feeling pressure from more than just our top politicians, but from every individual who has seen their life be disrupted by the virus.
While AstraZeneca is under a lot of pressure to push out a vaccine, they are also under a lot of pressure to make sure that the vaccine is safe. While it is true that they are rushed to create a vaccine faster by both the public and politicians, failure to ensure that it doesn't cause more damage than the virus itself means the company will tank, and the public will be less likely to trust any subsequent vaccines that come out. Considering that any approved vaccine will go out in the millions, the company will likely increase their attention to any potential risks in order to ensure that they don't go bankrupt.
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