You know I was trying so hard to stay out of politics on a hobby board of all places, but I'm genuinely curious to know, what part in the development of the vaccines did the Trump admin play exactly? Like what part of the process were they involved in? Did they bankroll the development? Hire the scientists? Test the vaccines? If Operation Warp Speed is to thank, what did it do exactly?
Originally Posted by anmar85
Nearly all of the above. The Trump admin played a substantial part in the entire process. The list is too great to fully list here but it includes:
Development:
OWS selected the most promising countermeasure candidates and providing coordinated government support including funding.
Protocols for the demonstration of safety and efficacy were aligned which allowed the trials to proceed more quickly.
The protocols for the trials were overseen by the federal government, as opposed to the traditional model where pharmaceutical companies decide on their own protocols.
Steps proceeded simultaneously, including starting manufacturing of the vaccine at industrial scale well before the demonstration of vaccine efficacy and safety as happens normally. This was only possible by the Trump admin assuming the financial risk.
Manufacturing:
The federal government made investments in the necessary manufacturing capacity at its own risk, giving firms confidence that they can invest aggressively in development and allowing faster distribution of the vaccine.
Manufacturing capacity was advanced while they are still in development, rather than scaled up after approval or authorization.
Manufacturing capacity developed was used for whatever vaccine was eventually successful regardless of which firms have developed the capacity.
Distribution:
OWS and our private partners developed a plan for delivering the vaccine as quickly and reliably as possible.
Experts from HHS led vaccine development, while experts from DoD partnered with the CDC and other parts of HHS to coordinate supply, production, and distribution of vaccines.
Here is a much more detailed listing of all the steps. It is impressive, no matter what your politics are and yes, the Trump admin deserves credit. No reasonable / intelligent person would think otherwise
https://www.hhs.gov/coronavirus/expl...eed/index.html