Trump Tries to Take Credit for Moderna’s Covid-19 Vaccine

Last updated on November 18th, 2020 at 05:32 pm

President Trump tried to take credit for Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine after the company announced its vaccine is 94.5 percent effective, according to early data it released today.

Moderna is the second company to announce a vaccine in as many weeks. The company said its vaccine did not have any serious side effects and that it plans to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for authorization as soon as more data is released later this month.

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The president’s claim was largely derided on social media due to his history of downplaying the severity of the coronavirus pandemic. The president has often insisted that the virus would simply “disappear” and has rejected the expert opinions of scientists and public health experts.

Last week, President Trump attempted to take credit for Pfizer‘s coronavirus vaccine after the company announced it had produced a vaccine with a 90 percent efficacy rate.

Pfizer confirmed it did not work with the Trump administration to develop its coronavirus vaccine, which the company announced is 90 percent effective.

That did not stop Vice President Mike Pence from taking credit for the news, saying that the vaccine was the result of “the public-private partnership forged by” President Donald Trump as part of Operation WarpSpeed.

“We were never part of the Warp Speed … We have never taken any money from the U.S. government, or from anyone.” said Kathrin Jansen, a senior vice president and the head of vaccine research and development at Pfizer.

The New York Times noted in its coverage that “Dr. Jansen sought to distance the company from Operation Warp Speed and presidential politics, noting that the company — unlike the other vaccine front-runners — did not take any federal money to help pay for research and development.”

Alan Herrera

Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.