FDA Chief Denies Reporting on White House Pressure: ‘No External Pressure’ Guided Vaccine Approval Process
CNN anchor Jake Tapper pressed FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn Sunday morning regarding reports of Hahn being pressured by the White House to fast-track a coronavirus vaccine, with failure to do so resulting in the FDA chief losing his job.
Hahn denied those reports and stated the only principle guiding the FDA’s authorization of the Covid-19 vaccine was science.
“Mr. Hahn, just to be clear, did White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, in any way, suggest that if the FDA did not grant emergency use authorization to this vaccine more quickly, that in any way, it would be more difficult for you to continue in your job?” Tapper asked Hahn.
“Jake, I’ve been really clear about this in my public statements. That is an inaccurate representation of the conversation,” Hahn stated, before stating he wasn’t going to “give specifics about the conversation.”
Hahn did note that there was “a desire” coming from the White House for the FDA to authorize the vaccine “as quickly as possible.”
“What I can say is we have heard from a number of sources, including the White House, that there was a desire for us to move as quickly as possible and, Jake, we have, but our absolute obligation to the American people was to make sure we did a thorough scientific review,” Hahn stated.
Tapper then brought up President Donald Trump’s Friday tweet which accused Hahn of “playing games.”
While my pushing the money drenched but heavily bureaucratic @US_FDA saved five years in the approval of NUMEROUS great new vaccines, it is still a big, old, slow turtle. Get the dam vaccines out NOW, Dr. Hahn @SteveFDA. Stop playing games and start saving lives!!!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 11, 2020
“Do you share the concerns of lots of doctors and public health experts that comments like this, public ones from the president, hurt your effort to reassure people that this was done according to the science and not political pressure and, therefore, it is safe?” Tapper asked Hahn.
Hahn then doubled down on the FDA only being guided by the science and the data, not Trump’s tweets.
“Jake, we have been very clear, and I’ll say it again here, that nothing guided our decision, no external comments, no external pressure other than the science and data guided our decision making,” Hahn stated.
Watch above, via CNN.
