A COVID-19 vaccine could come within weeks — at least a limited supply to front-line medical workers. Drug companies Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca have the leading vaccine candidates. Several others remain in development.
The Food and Drug Administration is responsible for authorizing and approving all vaccines in the USA. Widespread vaccine use once one is given the green light could provide a way to end the coronavirus pandemic. USA TODAY interviewed FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn about how the approval process works, how quickly it could go, and how the agency will encourage Americans to take the vaccine.
What is the ACIP? For a COVID-19 vaccine to get cleared by the FDA, these 15 experts will vouch for its safety
How a COVID-19 vaccine will be authorized
Question: How will a COVID-19 vaccine get clearance for use?
Answer: Companies have the option of applying for either a license (called a Biologics License Application) or an Emergency Use Authorization. It’s their choice.
Q: What is an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA)?
A: An Emergency Use Authorization is an authority that Congress gave to FDA after the 9/11 terrorist attacks to allow countermeasures, treatments or vaccines to be available earlier than would normally be done under the approval process.
Q: Has the FDA ever issued an Emergency Use Authorization for a vaccine?
A: Yes, for an anthrax vaccine (in 2005).
Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, promises transparency in the vaccine approval process.
How an Emergency Use Authorization differs from FDA approval
Q: What standards must companies meet to get Emergency Use Authorization?
A: The standard that’s used for an EUA is that it must be effective in the treatment or prevention of COVID-19 and that the risk/benefit ratio is in favor of authorization.
For vaccines, that’s especially important because unlike treatments, vaccines are given to people who are otherwise healthy. They don’t have COVID-19, so when we look into the risk/benefit ratio … we have to factor that into its safety and effectiveness. We have to be incredibly thoughtful about this.
How FDA evaluates the safety of a vaccine given emergency authorization
Q: What can you say to reassure people that a vaccine approved under an EUA is just as safe and effective as one approved under a BLA, even though there isn’t as much long-term effectiveness data?
A: The standards we expect in safety and effectiveness in an EUA are very similar to what we expect in a BLA. Our career scientists have been doing this for years; this is their area of expertise. They will be judging the science and medicine.
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A subject receives a shot in the first-stage safety trial of a potential vaccine by Moderna for COVID-19 at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle on March 16.
Q: Will COVID-19 vaccines issued under an EUA continue in the licensing process and eventually be fully licensed using a Biologics License Application?
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A: Yes. Our expectation is that the sponsors (the vaccine companies) will submit an application, and it’s their call if it’s an EUA or a BLA. Then they would submit, subsequently or in real time, a BLA. We will, of course, prioritize the application for an Emergency Use Authorization, but we will then go through the normal reviews.
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How the FDA will encourage people to take the vaccine
Q: What more could be done to encourage people to take an authorized vaccine? Is there anything you can do as head of the FDA to encourage people to get vaccinated?
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A: I was a doctor before I became FDA commissioner. If you explain something to a patient — if you share that in a transparent way and then you do what you say you’re going to do — that builds trust. We will follow our process, look at the criteria — we’ll be transparent about those.
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Q: Will you get the vaccine yourself? Either in April or May when it may become available to the general public, or do you fit in one of the categories that are likely to have access sooner, such as front-line medical workers?
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A: I’ve been clear, I would not allow the agency to authorize or approve a vaccine that I wouldn’t want my own family to get. No one at FDA would want that to occur.
When it’s appropriate for me to get the vaccine, from the guidelines’ point of view, I will get that vaccine. I would strongly urge my family to get it. I have 100% confidence in the staff at FDA. If it would enhance confidence in the vaccine, I would get the vaccine as soon as it is authorized.
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Maria Harvey and her sister Ashley Makridakis protest mandatory flu vaccinations outside the Massachusetts Statehouse on Aug. 30 in Boston. Public health authorities say flu shots are very important this year to avoid overburdening the health system amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Q: An employer or school cannot require someone to get a vaccine issued under an EUA, right?
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A: Institutions may require individuals to take an FDA-approved vaccine or apply for an exception. However, EUA products are still considered investigational.
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It’s possible that some employers or schools will have questions or concerns about an investigational product issued an Emergency Use Authorization, which is why we will be as transparent as possible about the data and information we use to make our decision. This should help those organizations determine what is most appropriate for them.
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How long it will take for a vaccine to be authorized
There are several steps to the vaccine authorization process. First, a company must apply to the FDA. Then, the FDA must go through the application and send it to an outside review board called the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC). That committee meets on Dec. 10 and will send the FDA its comments and recommendations. Only then can the FDA make a final decision on a vaccine.