Serious concerns with the conduct of the Covid-19 vaccine clinical trials

Did you know…this past week major media outlets reported four new serious concerns about the Covid-19 vaccine trials?

•NY Times 9/22: Two vaccine experts identify a major flaw in the Covid-19 vaccine trials. The trials are focusing on whether the vaccines prevent mild disease, not moderate or severe disease which are the major concerns. (1)

•Washington Post 9/22: A former Harvard Medical School physician and AIDS researcher, Dr. William Hazeltine, agrees with the NY Times article. Further he notes that the design of Pfizer and Moderna vaccine trials is such that they could be considered a success with fewer than 100 people vaccinated. These are not nearly enough numbers to determine long-term efficacy and safety. (2)

•CNN 9/25: The AstraZeneca Covid-19 trial is still paused in the US as more information is becoming available about 2 participants in UK who experienced severe neurological autoimmune diseases during the vaccine trial. US physicians question whether the diseases are unrelated to the vaccine as AstraZeneca claims. (3)

•NBC News 9/24: Perhaps most alarming is the news that Dr. Richard Whitley, the chair of the US Data Safety and Monitoring Board (DSMB) evaluating the vaccine trials in the US, has significant conflicts of interest. In 2019 he received consulting fees from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) which is making a COVID-19 vaccine, and he is on the board of Gilead Sciences which manufactures remdesivir. He also oversees another DSMB for GSK. The identities of the other members of the DSMB are being withheld. According to conflict of interest guidelines, DSMB members or their family members should have no professional, proprietary or financial relationship with companies sponsoring the research.  (4)

•In a Pew Research Center poll of over 10,000 Americans conducted September 8-13, those who say they would get a COVID-19 vaccine has dropped sharply with only 21% stating they would “definitely” get the vaccine. (5)

(1). https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/22/opinion/covid-vaccine-coronavirus.html

(2) https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/09/22/beware-covid-19-vaccine-trials-designed-succeed-start/

(3). https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/25/health/astrazeneca-covid-19-vaccine-trial-questions-fda/index.html

(4) https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/secret-powerful-panels-will-pick-covid-19-vaccine-winners-n1240885?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=4556dbf9-ab9e-4e83-b0e1-e3959583d371

(5) https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2020/09/17/u-s-public-now-divided-over-whether-to-get-covid-19-vaccine/

Compiled by West Virginians for Health Freedom.