Tell your Members of Congress: Ensure a safe, effective, and equitably distributed COVID19 Vaccine
Senator Dianne Feinstein
SF Office: (415) 393-0707
DC Office: (202) 224-3841
LA Office: (310) 914-7300
Fresno Office: (559) 485-7430
San Diego Office: (619) 231-9712
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Senator Kamala Harris
SF Office: (415) 981-9369
DC Office: (202) 224-3553
Sacramento Office: (916) 448-2787
LA Office: (213) 894-5000
San Diego Office: (619) 239-3884
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Speaker Nancy Pelosi
SF Office: (415) 556-4862
DC Office: (202) 225-4965
Email Contact: https://pelosi.house.gov/contact-me/email-me
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Rep. Jackie Speier
San Mateo Office: (650) 342-0300
DC Office: (202) 225-3531
Email Contact: https://speier.house.gov/email-jackie
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Call Script
My name is __________. I am a constituent, and my zip code is _______. I am a member of Indivisible SF.
I’m asking my [Representative/Senator] to immediately conduct oversight hearings with FDA director Stephen Hahn, CDC director Robert Redfield, and HHS secretary Alex Azar, on the production and distribution of COVID 19 vaccine(s).
These hearings should be aimed at understanding the timeline and scientific strategy behind granting approval to COVID 19 vaccine(s) that are safe and effective and also uncovering any impermissible political interference or pressure. I ask that the following ethical criteria are observed in distributing the COVID19 vaccine:
Maximization of benefits
Equal regard and respect for all
Mitigation of health inequities
Fairness
Evidence-based
Transparency
Furthermore, we urge Congress to ensure the FDA coordinates its efforts with international partners and uses the WHO’s COVAX guidelines for equitable access to COVID19 vaccine globally.
Background
Last week, the CDC sent documents to the states asking them to prepare for distribution of the so-called EAU (emergency authorization use) COVID19 vaccine as early as October. This is a political stunt, aimed to serve as Trump’s October election surprise, and it has to be prevented.
Dr. Stephen M. Hahn, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, who has been under pressure from the White House to speed coronavirus treatments, said in a newspaper interview that his agency would be willing to approve a coronavirus vaccine before Phase 3 clinical trials were complete, if the agency found it “appropriate” to do so.
An independent advisory committee is scheduled to meet on Oct. 22 to discuss vaccines in development, but Dr. Hahn has said the agency was prepared to “rapidly” schedule additional meetings, once a vaccine application is submitted. Three of the “Warp Speed”-backed vaccines have entered efficacy trials, and one manufacturer has pledged to start delivering the first of 300 million doses as early as October—though one person close to Operation Warp Speed says, “There won’t be enough vaccine in October to create anything other than a news story.”
The National Academy of Sciences in the US has released a draft document for distribution of the COVID19 vaccine.
On the international front, the WHO has developed the COVAX initiative - the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator. The ACT Accelerator is a ground-breaking global collaboration to accelerate the development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines. COVAX is led by a Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Its aim is to accelerate the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines and to guarantee fair and equitable access for every country in the world.