WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman David Schweikert joined House colleagues on a letter to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration urging them to speed up the evaluation and approval process for a COVID-19 vaccine, and to prepare for a more rapid deployment to the public. The letter was signed by 35 Members of Congress.

Under current processes, the approval timeline for vaccines range from 18 months to several years. The letter argues that because of the enormous human costs of the COVID-19 pandemic, a more rapid process is necessary. Specifically, it requests the FDA to consider testing vaccines using “Challenge Trials” that many experts believe can reduce the time required to test a COVID-19 vaccine to 2-3 months while minimizing the health risk to test subjects.

“It is imperative that we work efficiently, without overly burdensome government barriers, to approve a safe vaccine for COVID-19. I am pleased to join this letter to ensure our testing and vaccine development is available as soon as possible for all Americans. A vaccine for COVID-19 would safeguard our populations from this wide-spread virus and provide us much needed economic stability.”

You can find a copy of the letter HERE.

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