OPINION:
Santa Claus has arrived early this year, and he looks a lot like Donald Trump. With the addition of a white beard, a red, fur-trimmed suit and just a few extra inches of girth, the man from Queens could pass for the king of elves, especially considering what he’s loading into his gift sack. The life-saving COVID-19 vaccine that he promised to deliver has arrived in record time. Hallelujah.
On Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concluded its review of the frontrunning vaccine developed by pharmaceuticals Pfizer and BioNTech and gave a green light for distribution. Initial shipments are expected to reach all 636 locations across the 50 states by Wednesday. First in line for inoculation by the end of the month are millions of health care workers and nursing home patients. The number of doses administered could reach 50 million by February, Assistant Secretary for Health Brett Giroir told Fox News.
It was not quick enough for Mr. Trump, though. He grumbled impatiently Friday like Santa on deadline as officials, according to Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, finished “the last dotting of I’s and crossing of T’s.” It’s apparent that paper-pushers on the Potomac have trouble writing long-hand at “warp speed.” “Stop playing games and start saving lives!!!” tweeted the president.
These are words that reflect an urgency based on the knowledge that time is of the essence when delays to mass inoculation mean more death. An autumn coronavirus wave sent the U.S. death level above the devastating 3,000 per-day mark and pushed the total fatalities beyond 300,000. Fatalities worldwide exceeds 1.6 million.
Moreover, an additional 412,000 global deaths above normal mortality figures have occurred from non-COVID-19 causes, reports The New York Times, an indicator that health care systems around the world have degraded during the battle against the virus.
A second medical miracle drug from Moderna is due for FDA assessment this week. If approved, 200 million doses are expected to reach waiting recipients by June 2021, adding to the Pfizer and BioNTech supply of 1.3 billion doses next year. With the addition of vaccines under development by AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, and other Trump-recruited pharmaceuticals, a third of the world could be inoculated in 2021.
Unlike Santa, the president has kept no “naughty list.” Legions of never-Trumpers in government, media and Big Tech who schemed to destroy his presidency won’t be denied the anti-viral elixir they claimed the president would botch. Will they whisper a silent “thank you” as they roll up their sleeves to receive the Trump vaccine? Likely so, but as in “Thank you, Joe Biden.”
“Promises made, promises kept,” Mr. Trump likes to say. That’s the can-do spirit that makes America special. Just in time for Christmas, the fruits of “Operation Warp Speed” are starting to bring joy to the world.
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