The White House is reportedly blocking the Food and Drug Administration’s guidelines on an emergency approval of a COVID-19 vaccine in yet another seemingly politically motivated intervention in the FDA’s vaccine authorization process.
According to the New York Times, White House officials are doing so on the grounds that the guidelines would prevent the vaccine from being approved before Election Day on November 3.
The FDA is reportedly keeping its fingers crossed that an outside advisory committee will bypass the White House’s meddling and enforce the guidelines anyway.
The White House’s latest intervention in the vaccine approval process comes as President Donald Trump openly pushes for a speedy vaccine authorization to boost his reelection prospects, despite health experts’ health and safety concerns.