Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said this week that he’s “hopeful” the coronavirus pandemic will be “behind us” by next spring.
Redfield told the JAMA Network YouTube channel on Thursday that he’s “hopeful that the steps we take to prevent COVID are going to prevent flu and other respiratory viruses,” and that "people are going to realize this is the year to get flu vaccine and we'll begin to see our nation get through this pandemic."
He added, "As we then — and I do anticipate it will happen — begin to deploy an efficacious and safe COVID vaccine, then hopefully when you and I talk next spring we'll have this pandemic behind us."
On the same day, Peter Marks, director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research at the Food and Drug Administration, told Reuters that he would resign if pushed to release a coronavirus vaccine early.
"I could not stand by and see something that was unsafe or ineffective that was being put through,” he said.
"You have to decide where your red line is, and that's my red line," Marks continued. "I would feel obligated [to resign] because in doing so, I would indicate to the American public that there's something wrong."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.