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White House threatens FDA chief’s job over vaccine approval

In this Sept. 23, 2020, file photo, Dr. Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, testifies during a Senate Senate Health, Education, Labor,
and Pensions Committee Hearing on the federal government response to COVID-19 on Capitol Hill.
Associated Press
By J. LEMIRE, D. SUPERVILLE the public. The FDA is not low the vaccine to be is- Hahn said in a statement. see vaccine confidence
and M. PERRONE required to follow the guid- sued on an emergency ba- "The FDA was encouraged drop by 10%."
Associated Press ance of its advisory com- sis, the official said. to continue working ex- Hahn and other top health
WASHINGTON (AP) — mittees, but the devasta- President Donald Trump peditiously on Pfizer-BioN- officials have been working
White House chief of staff tion caused by the virus has been pressing for quick Tech's EUA request. FDA is for months to boost pub-
Mark Meadows on Friday makes the vaccine's au- approval for the vaccine committed to issuing this lic confidence in the gov-
pressed Food and Drug Ad- thorization almost certain. and tweeted directly at authorization quickly, as we ernment's vaccine effort,
ministration chief Stephen Meadows spoke to Hahn Hahn earlier Friday, com- noted in our statement this which will eventually need
Hahn to grant an emer- by telephone Friday, ac- plaining that FDA "is still a morning." to reach most Americans
gency use authorization cording to a senior admin- big, old, slow turtle." Trump The FDA said earlier Friday to suppress the virus.
for Pfizer's coronavirus vac- istration official who was fa- has publicly bashed the that it "will rapidly work" to Recent polls show only
cine by the end of the day miliar with the call but was pace of the FDA's vaccine grant emergency use of about half of all Americans
or face possible firing, two not authorized to discuss review process. the vaccine. are ready to roll up their
administration officials said. private conversations. "Get the dam vaccines Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of sleeves for a shot. Many
The vaccine produced by The chief of staff also told out NOW, Dr. Hahn," Trump Brown University's school of have safety concerns and
Pfizer Inc. and its German Hahn his job was in jeop- tweeted Friday. "Stop play- public health, called the want to wait and see how
partner BioNTech won a ardy if the emergency use ing games and start saving pressure an "unforced er- the initial rollout fares. But
critical endorsement Thurs- authorization was not is- lives." ror" by the White House that concerns that a vaccine
day from an FDA panel of sued before Saturday, said Hahn disputed characteri- could chip away at public was rushed due to political
outside advisers, and si- a second administration of- zations of his conversation confidence in a vaccine. pressure could further un-
gnoff from the agency — ficial familiar with the con- with Meadows. "It creates a veneer of po- dermine the unprecedent-
which was expected this versation. "This is an untrue represen- litical meddling," Jha said. ed vaccination effort.
weekend — is the next step Hahn signaled that he tation of the phone call "Every time you see the
needed to get the shots to would tell regulators to al- with the Chief of Staff," president get involved, you Continued on Page 2