Amid concerns over a lack of transparency Covid-19 product development, more than two dozen academics and health policy experts are urging federal officials and several vaccine makers to fully disclose all information concerning their clinical trial protocols and agreements.
In an open letter, they acknowledged that sharing such details is unusual, but in this instance, such a step would help to ensure accountability, advance scientific understanding, and build public trust, especially at a time when the race to develop a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine has become highly politicized by the Trump administration.
Although they applauded four vaccine makers for recently releasing trial protocols — Pfizer (PFE), AstraZeneca (AZN), Moderna (MRNA), and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) — the experts maintained more information can and should be disclosed. And they pointed to federal government contracts worth billions of dollars to help fund vaccine development and manufacturing, and in some cases, commit to purchasing millions of doses.
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