Andrew M. Cuomo said Thursday that New York state will conduct its own review of any vaccines for the coronavirus that are approved by the federal government, citing concerns that the Trump administration has overly politicized and threatened the integrity of the vaccine approval process. “Frankly, I am not going to trust the federal government’s opinion, and I wouldn’t recommend to New Yorkers, based on the federal government’s opinion,” Cuomo (D) said at a news briefing, the New York Times reported. Cuomo said his concerns grew after President Trump warned Wednesday that the White House might reject a plan by the Food and Drug Administration to issue new, tougher standards for emergency approval of the vaccine, dismissing them as “a political move.”Trump suggested companies, not federal regulators, should decide when the vaccine should be made available for the public, adding that he saw no reason it should be delayed further. The president has repeatedly said that the vaccine would be available before Election Day. But top health officials have contradicted those claims and said it won’t be available to most Americans until late spring or summer 2021.

Source: Washington Post September 24, 2020 04:23 UTC