FiveThirtyEight founder Nate Silver claimed on Thursday that "liberal public health elites" pushed Pfizer to delay the release of its COVID-19 vaccine until after the 2020 elections.
The notable statistician and ABC News contributor made the claim on Twitter while responding to a Politico article regarding former President Donald Trump's conduct towards the Food and Drug Administration in 2020.
Politico's article quotes a report conducted by the House select committee investigating the COVID pandemic alleging Trump pressured the FDA and head Stephen Hahn to authorize the first vaccine and "unproven treatments" on an accelerated timeline.
Among the drugs pushed for by the Trump administration was hydroxychloroquine, which was revoked for emergency clearance after the FDA determined it was ineffective against COVID and could lead to dangerous side effects.
"'Trump pushed for vaccine approvals too fast' is the worst possible critique of the Trump administration's COVID policy. That [pushing fast] probably saved a lot of lives. If anything approval should have been faster," Silver stated.
He then called out Pfizer's conspicuously-timed announcement, six days after the presidential election, that its vaccine was 90% effective against the virus. CEO Albert Bourla has claimed the decision was not politically motivated.
"Now, we are approaching our goal and despite not having any political considerations with our pre-announced date, we find ourselves in the crucible of the U.S. Presidential election," Bourla wrote in a memo at the time. "We would never succumb to political pressure."
But Silver remains unconvinced.
"Also, the late 2020 push from liberal public health elites that persuaded Pfizer to *change* its original protocols - and had the convenient side-effect of delaying any vaccine announcement until after the election - deserves more scrutiny," he said in another post.
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