Corona vaccine: Donald Trump calls the head of the US health authority "confused"

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CDC Director Robert Redfield at the September 16 hearing in Congress

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POOL / REUTERS

The director of the US health authority CDC, Robert Redfield, assumes that the American population cannot be vaccinated against the coronavirus before the summer of next year at the earliest.

The first vaccinations could be given in November or December of this year, he said at a Senate hearing in Washington.

To get back to normal life, "let's look, I think, towards the late second or third quarter of 2021".

The US government recently emphasized that a vaccine could be shipped to distribution centers within 24 hours of being approved by the US FDA, and submitted relevant documents.

The vaccination should then gradually be made available to the citizens largely free of charge.

Among other things, employees of the health system would have priority.

Earlier, Trump said he expected an effective vaccine to be available in the next three to four weeks.

"We are about to have a vaccine," said Trump on Tuesday on ABC News.

"If you want to know the truth, with the FDA and all of its approvals, it might have taken the previous government years to get a vaccine. And we could have it in weeks, three weeks, or four weeks."

At a press conference on Wednesday, Trump made derogatory comments on the latest statements by the chief epidemiologist: Redfield had made a mistake and was "confused".

Does political pressure undermine medical regulations?

The pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Biontech confirmed last week that they would apply for approval as early as October if their Phase III study of a joint vaccine candidate was successful.

However, many experts are concerned that political pressure could undermine medical regulations.

In fact, in the past few weeks there have been several reports of influence being exerted on authorities and officials who are involved in approving a vaccine.

Critics accuse Trump of using the search for a vaccine for political purposes.

The US presidential election will take place on November 3, and in polls Trump is lagging behind his Democratic challenger Joe Biden.

The US government had asked the states in early September to be ready for the distribution of a possible corona vaccine from November 1st.

CDC chief Redfield had written a letter to the governors to ensure the completion of distribution centers by this date.

The letter shows the government's willingness to approve a vaccine before the presidential election.

Trump had previously repeatedly expressed hope that a vaccine to contain the pandemic could soon be available.

However, experts warn against bringing a vaccine onto the market without a sufficient scientific basis.

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