Dr Anthony Fauci, the leading expert on handling the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, said Thursday that he believes the United Kingdom should have reviewed the Pfizer vaccine better before approving it, sparking criticism from health experts in that country.
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Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the
United States is doing a more comprehensive review of the vaccine and that is why it is taking longer.
Fauci made these remarks to Major Garrett on a CBS News podcast after President Donald Trump lamented the alleged delays by health authorities in approving the vaccine.
The expert opined that British regulators
had not scrutinized the data as carefully as their US counterparts
at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
"We have the regulatory gold standard at the FDA," Fauci said, "the UK didn't do it that carefully and went ahead a couple of days."
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Gavin Williamson, Britain's education secretary, said on Thursday that his country had won the race to authorize the first coronavirus vaccine
because its regulators are superior.
"Obviously, we have the best medical regulators," Williamson said, "much better than the French, much better than the Belgians, much better than the Americans.
That does not surprise me at all because we are a much better country than each and every one of them, is it not? "
The comments from both countries are part of a debate over regulatory standards and policy, as many nations
compete for the first shipments of vaccines.
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Fauci also said that he
would be willing to receive the injection on camera
to give the public confidence about the safety of the vaccines.
Skepticism about vaccines in general, and the coronavirus in particular, worries health experts, who fight against misinformation about lies that are not supported by evidence.
Fauci also warned of an
"increase over another increase"
in coronavirus cases in the United States: hospitalizations currently exceed 100,000, double the previous peak of the May pandemic.
This Wednesday 2,885 deaths were registered, the highest number since the beginning of the health crisis in March.
Fauci assured that in his opinion the transition process has taken too long, but that he will begin to meet with the team of president-elect, Joe Biden, as he will continue to work at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under the incoming Administration.
He added that he has spoken several times with who will be Biden's chief of staff, Ron Klain, and this Thursday he will do so with the president.
With information from The New York Times.
