‘We won’t take anyone’s word for it’: California to independently review coronavirus vaccines

Californian authorities “will not take anyone’s word” on approved coronavirus vaccines, governor Gavin Newsom has said.

As he announced distribution plans and an independent review process on Monday, the Democrat said vaccines would be distributed in the state “at the speed of trust”.

Those plans include an 11-person panel that will review any vaccines approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or pharmaceutical companies for the United States.

“Of course we won’t take anyone’s word for it,” said the governor, as he named Californian university physicians, medical providers, and public health officials as panel members.

“These are top health experts that will independently review any FDA-approved vaccines,” he went on. “We will do our own independently reviewed process with our world-class experts that just happen to live here in the state of California.”

Whilst the decision to assess vaccines at the state level could leave Californian residents receiving vaccines later than other states, New York governor Andrew Cumo announced similar plans last month.

“It might be prudent for a state to make sure everything’s kosher,” said David Magnus, director of the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics, to the Associated Press.

“It would be a mistake not to be aware of the way that the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the FDA have been pressured by the White House, no matter who’s in the White House," he added.

Amid concerns that Donald Trump put the FDA under pressure to develop a vaccine at speed, Mr Newsom said the Californian panel will review a vaccine’s safety regardless of the outcome of the presidential election on 3 November.

“Don’t anticipate or expect that you can go down to the local pharmacy any time in this calendar year and likely get a vaccination,” said the governor, in apparent criticism at Mr Trump’s promises to deliver a vaccine before the election.

Mr Newsom also cautioned that even under the most optimistic projections a vaccine will not be widely available to California residents before next year, with healthcare workers and first responders lined-up to receive initial doses.

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