President Trump cast further doubt on the future of U.S. vaccines on Monday, claiming that the CDC has been “ripped apart” by the debate over the Covid-19 shot’s efficacy.
What Trump said
“I hope OPERATION WARP SPEED was as ‘BRILLIANT’ as many say it was. If not, we all want to know about it, and why???” he wrote on Truth Social. He demanded that drug companies make their data publicly available to prove their efficacy.
“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???” he continued.
The wider context
Operation Warp Speed, the rapid development of Covid-19 vaccines in 2020, was one of the proudest achievements of Trump’s first term. It played a vital role in the development of mRNA-based vaccines in particular. But due to his MAGA base’s widespread vaccine skepticism, Trump has been increasingly reluctant to tout its success.
In an op-ed for the Washington Post last month, Jerome Adams, who was U.S. surgeon general from 2017 to 2021, noted the president’s more recent refusal to acknowledge the operation’s achievements.
He wrote: “This historic feat positioned the United States as the global leader in biomedical innovation. It warranted Nobel Prize consideration for the president, because of its unprecedented impact on humanity and health.”
“Yet, in his second term, Trump’s tolerance for his own appointees undermining this legacy is nothing short of baffling.”
Susan Moranez’s firing
Trump’s most recent remarks undermining Operation Warp Speed also follow the dismissal of Susan Monarez as director of the CDC. NBC News reported that a conflict over a key independent vaccine committee was the last straw that led to Monarez’s removal. Health Secretary RFK Jr. repeatedly interfered with the committee, firing members and replacing some with vaccine skeptics, stoking fears about the committee’s future impact on public health.
The White House has tapped Deputy Health Secretary Jim O’Neill, a former Silicon Valley tech investor, as Monarez’s replacement.
Shifting gears
As if the situation wasn’t complicated enough, Trump brought up Operation Warp Speed during a televised cabinet meeting last week — but on that occasion, he was emphatic about its success.
He called it “one of the greatest achievements ever in politics – or in the military, because it was almost a military procedure,” during a televised cabinet meeting. Crucially, he added that President Putin gave him kudos for it, boasting: “But everybody, including [Russia’s Vladimir] Putin, said that Operation Warp Speed, ‘What you did with that, nobody can believe it.’ And we did a great job.”
It’s strange for Trump to trumpet Putin’s validation, considering his frustration over the Russian leader’s continued bombardment of Ukraine. Just a couple of weeks ago, he told the BBC: “We’ll have a great conversation. I’ll say: ‘That’s good, I’ll think we’re close to getting it done,’ and then he’ll knock down a building in Kyiv.” All things considered, it appears he still values the Russian president’s praise remarkably highly.
The FDA’s new booster restrictions
This is all very well, you may be thinking, but how does this back-and-forth affect the American public? Looking ahead, the FDA has approved the latest Covid-19 booster shots for the fall, but massively limited who will be eligible for them. For the first time, the jab isn’t being recommended to most people for the winter. It’s been authorized for over-65s, but younger people are no longer eligible unless they have an underlying condition that makes them more vulnerable to Covid-19. A medical provider must be consulted before under-18s receive the shot.
Added to this, the jab must be approved by the very same CDC advisory committee that has recently been overhauled by Health Secretary — and stalwart vaccine skeptic — RFK Jr.
