By Linda A. Johnson

The top executives of nine drugmakers likely to produce the first vaccines against the new coronavirus signed an unprecedented pledge meant to boost public confidence in any approved vaccines.

The companies said Tuesday that they will stick to the highest ethical and scientific standards in testing and manufacturing and will make the well-being of those getting vaccinated their top priority.

The announcement comes amid worries that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will be under political pressure to approve a vaccine before tests to prove it is safe and effective are finished.

Meanwhile, public health officials worry that if many Americans don't get the vaccine, it will be harder to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

The pledge was signed by the chief executive officers of American drugmakers Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Moderna, Novavax, and Pfizer, and European companies AstraZeneca, BioNTech, GlaxoSmithKline, and Sanofi. BioNTech has partnered with Pfizer on one of the vaccines now in the final round of human testing. 

Share:
More In Business
Tony Awards draw best audience in 6 years for CBS
The Tony Awards on Sunday lured 4.85 million viewers to CBS, its largest broadcast audience in six years. CBS says Monday that Nielsen data shows the telecast — hosted by “Wicked” star Cynthia Erivo — scored a 38% increase over last year’s 3.53 million viewers. That’s the largest audience for the Tonys since 2019, when the telecast that year nabbed 5.4 million viewers and “Hadestown” was crowned best new musical. The latest version also had to compete with the second game of the NBA Finals, between the Thunder and Pacers,
Apple unveils software redesign while reeling from AI missteps
After stumbling out of the starting gate in Big Tech’s pivotal race to capitalize on artificial intelligence, Apple tried to regain its footing Monday during a developers conference that focused mostly on incremental advances and cosmetic changes in its technology.
DA: Suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing said he ‘had it coming’
Six weeks before UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down outside a Manhattan hotel last December, Luigi Mangione mused about rebelling against “the deadly, greed fueled health insurance cartel” and expressed that killing the executive “conveys a greedy bastard that had it coming."
Load More