Let’s cut right to the bottom line: rushing a vaccine for COVID-19 before all the proper trials have been done is not just wrong, it could be deadly.
The Trump administration has told states to be ready to distribute a COVID vaccine by Nov. 1.
Why Nov. 1? So U.S. President Donald Trump can claim a cure for COVID just before the Nov. 3, 2020, presidential election.
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It’s a date that is driven by politics, not science.
Most medical experts say that it’s way too dangerous to release a vaccine that hasn’t been fully tested.
The important Phase Three test of any potential vaccine is a huge undertaking, involving thousands of participants, and evaluating the results of that testing could take up to two years.
Experts say that, in a crisis situation, they might shave a few months off that time frame, if there is overwhelming evidence of the vaccine’s effectiveness.
But marketing a vaccine after only a couple of months is risky.
Will the vaccine have any serious side effects? We won’t know.
Those doubts will make many people leery of even getting vaccinated.
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Of course, some of Trump’s followers considered taking bleach because their clueless leader told them to, but most intelligent people will have serious doubts.
And, if there are more deaths, over and above the close to 200,000 Americans who have already died from a virus that Trump said would just disappear, well, as Trump said, “it is what it is.”
That’s what happens when a president puts his own self-interest ahead of public health.
Bill Kelly is the host of the Bill Kelly Show on Global News Radio 900 CHML.
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