Dr. Carlos del Rio, an investigator in Moderna‘s clinical trials, told CNBC on Thursday he is worried about political pressure interfering in the regulatory approval process for any potential coronavirus vaccine.

“Politics have already impinged on science,” del Rio said on “Power Lunch,” referring to a pair of previous developments during the coronavirus pandemic that did not involve vaccine approvals.

Del Rio, an infectious diseases professor at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, pointed to the timing of the Food and Drug Administration granting emergency approval to use convalescent plasma to treat hospitalized Covid-19 patients. The announcement arrived a day before the start of the Republican National Convention.

He also referenced recent reporting by Politico, which said communications officials within the Department of Health and Human Services pushed to review or change reports on the coronavirus issued by the Centers for Disease Control and …continued .
[Source: CNBC News]