Hadassah research head raises questions about mRNA vaccine safety
(Worthy News) – Prof. Yossi Karko, director of the clinical research unit at Hadassah-University Medical Center, has warned that the data published by Moderna and Pfizer about their coronavirus vaccine candidates is limited.
Both companies have applied for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the Food and Drug Administration for their vaccines but Karko, who has been overseeing the clinical trial of Israel’s vaccine at Hadassah, said that “while they seem to be very efficient vaccines, we have to remember that this data has shortcomings.”
“The FDA has a mechanism of approving drugs and vaccines for emergency cases. What this means, is that the FDA has initial safety data. But if this was a usual situation, the researchers would have followed the volunteers for at least two years before the vaccine was approved,” he said.
Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccine candidates are both messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines. If approved, these will be the first-ever vaccines of this type brought to market for human recipients. [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More…) ]