The governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, says state health officials will conduct their own assessment of any SARS-CoV-2 vaccine that receives a federal OK, NPR reports.
Earlier this week, the Washington Post reported the US Food and Drug Administration was to announce stricter standards for the emergency authorization of any SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, including a requirement that trial volunteers are followed for at least a median two months after receiving their last vaccine dose. This change, the Post noted, was to help boost transparency and trust in the vaccine development and authorization process, as there have been increasing concerns about its politicization.
However, Politico then reported that President Donald Trump said he might not approve these more robust standards, a move Politico said threw the effort to increase confidence in a coronavirus vaccine "into jeopardy."
During a press briefing yesterday taped by Bloomberg, Governor Cuomo, a Democrat, discussed President Trump's dispute with FDA and said New York would have doctors, scientists, and other health experts do its own review.
"The first question is, is the vaccine safe? Frankly, I'm not going to trust the federal government's opinion," Cuomo said, according to NPR, adding, "New York State will have its own review when the federal government has finished with their review and says it's safe."