LIVE | ‘Chief of Staff Trump demanded corona vaccine approval by end of Friday’ | Inland

US President Donald Trump’s chief of staff on Friday threatened to fire the head of the FDA drug watchdog if it does not approve the corona vaccine from pharmaceuticals Pfizer and BioNTech by the end of the day. The threat from the White House would have caused the watchdog to speed up the procedure, reports The Washington Post. The government and FDA chief Steve Hahn contradict the threat of dismissal.

Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows is said to have told FDA chief Steve Hahn that he must submit his letter of resignation if approval is not given on Friday for the first developed corona vaccine. Trump on Twitter Friday called the FDA “a big, old, slow turtle.” “Approve the damn vaccines NOW,” Trump added. “Stop playing games and save lives !!!”

A senior government official put Meadows’ message into perspective on Friday. His remark to Hahn about the impending dismissal “was not a red line,” but allegedly meant a joke to urge the FDA for haste.

Political interference with the watchdog is considered inappropriate. The task of the FDA is to judge whether a drug is effective and safe on the basis of scientific information before approving it for the market. Trump accused the FDA before the election of political reasons for blocking the development of a vaccine, and said FDA officials are conspiring against him.

Trump has often announced in recent months that there would be a corona vaccine soon and before the election. This raised concern among the medical community, who feared Trump would push the FDA to speed up approving a vaccine that may not be safe and effective.

The timing of the announcement shortly after the election that the corona vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech is 90 percent effective in preventing infection according to preliminary research results, according to Trump, was politically motivated.

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