It’s “very dangerous” to give specific dates on when a coronavirus vaccine may be available, former US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Thursday.
President Trump said Thursday he was “optimistic” a potential coronavirus vaccine could be ready by Election Day on Nov. 3.
“When it comes to a vaccine, all of us are hoping that we will get a vaccine that's safe and effective as soon as possible, but I think it's very dangerous at this point to give specific dates because, while there are reasons to be hopeful, we do have, for example, multiple vaccine candidates that are in advanced stages of human trials and we do have collaborators who are working together around the world,” Murthy said.
The former surgeon general cautioned that there are two critical requirements for a successful vaccine. “One is that it is safe and the other is that it is effective and we cannot cut corners in getting there,” he said.
“We can’t sacrifice our standards because if we do, it not only hurts people, but it’s going to damage people’s faith in vaccine efforts,” Murthy added.
Murthy said he’s bothered by polls showing nearly 50% of people said they had either decided against getting a Covid-19 vaccine or were uncertain about it.
And that makes it all the more important that any vaccine that is approved or authorized has to be reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration's external vaccine advisory committee and it has to be deliberated upon in a public forum, he said.
“That’s also why we have to be very clear with people about what the distribution plan is for this vaccine because it will take months to get this vaccine out, even under optimal circumstances, which is why the vaccination campaign we develop has got to be top-notch and executed well.”