US President Donald Trump has called on pharmaceutical companies to reveal more data on their Covid-19 vaccines and drugs, as he criticises them for fuelling the fallout in the past week at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
On Truth Social, Trump posted: “It is very important that the Drug Companies justify the success of their various Covid Drugs. Many people think they are a miracle that saved Millions of lives. Others disagree!
“With CDC being ripped apart over this question, I want the answer, and I want it NOW.”
Covid-19 vaccines have long been a point of battle for Trump. During his first incumbency, he oversaw their deployment as part of Operation Warp Speed, though it is well-known that many of his supporters are sceptical of vaccines. This includes his own health secretary, Robert F Kennedy (RFK) Jr., who has questioned their efficacy and overseen Covid-19 booster restrictions since assuming office during Trump’s current administration. He also controversially uphauled the entirety of the committee at the CDC that votes on whether vaccines are added to the national immunisation schedule.
Amid the narrowing of Covid-19 vaccine licences and a wider shift away from immunisations in public health strategy, the CDC fell into turmoil last week. RFK Jr fired the agency’s director, Susan Monarez, after she disagreed with the health secretary’s stance on vaccine guidance. A slew of resignations from top officials followed.
Trump has placed part of the blame at the door of pharmaceutical companies, claiming that shrouding Covid-19 drug data has led to the tensions within his administration.
“I have been shown information from Pfizer and others that is extraordinary, but they never seem to show those results to the public. Why not??? They go off to the next “hunt” and let everyone rip themselves apart, including Bobby Kennedy Jr. and CDC, trying to figure out the success or failure of the Drug Companies Covid work,” Trump stated.
Pfizer did not immediately respond to Pharmaceutical Technology when asked for comment.
Pfizer manufactures the mRNA-based Covid-19 vaccine Comirnaty in partnership with BioNTech. The drugmaker has reported a wealth of clinical data on the vaccine since it was granted emergency use authorisation by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in December 2020. A global Phase I/II/III study (NCT04368728) with nearly 44,000 participants demonstrated the vaccine’s strong efficacy in protecting against the disease.
An updated version of the vaccine was approved last week to target new strains of the virus, though individuals aged between five and 64 years will need to have one underlying condition to be eligible for administration. This was the same case for mRNA vaccines manufactured by Moderna, meaning many Americans under the age of 65 will not be eligible for mRNA-based Covid-19 jabs.
This narrowing fuelled ire at the top of the CDC, which ultimately ended in Monarez’s dismissal. The former CDC director has vowed to contest her firing, stating via her lawyers that it was the result of her refusal “to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts”.
Trump has backed his health secretary through the storm. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the decision to dismiss Monarez, saying the ex-director “was not aligned with the President’s mission to make America healthy again”.
