Trump administration lays out path to 300M COVID-19 doses by January, safety questions linger

The Trump administration Tuesday presented a high-level road map to its plans to produce 300 million COVID-19 vaccine doses by January. In a briefing for reporters, senior administration officials involved with Operation Warp Speed stressed that the accelerated development program will not compromise on FDA’s safety and efficacy standards, but they did not indicate how less than six months of human exposure can provide robust assurances of safety.

The officials, who provided the briefing on the condition that they are not identified, said that COVID-19 vaccines will be available to all Americans at no out-of-pocket cost. The U.S. government will provide vaccines to vulnerable populations, critical workers and individuals associated with national defense. Other Americans will be able to access the vaccines through commercial insurers who are expected to provide them with no co-pays, the officials said. ...