Pfizer’s CEO recently stated that the company could be ready to submit data from a late-stage trial of its coronavirus vaccine by the end of October — but experts are urging the company to slow its roll.
According to Bloomberg Law, more than 60 bioethicists and researchers have penned a letter asking Pfizer to delay data reporting until November. By November, participants in the trial will have been monitored for at least two months from the time they took a second dose. Submitting sooner and then pushing for an emergency use authorization from the FDA could, the letter’s authors say, “severely erode public trust and setback efforts to achieve widespread vaccination.”
If Pfizer were to submit safety data in October, it would move ahead of Moderna and AstraZeneca/University of Oxford in the race to the vaccine finish line.
Pfizer is aiming to supply 100 million coronavirus shots by the end of this year under a $1.95 billion contract with the U.S. government.
The letter did not mention politics or the concerns that the Trump administration could push to have a vaccine approved before the Nov. 3 election.