President Trump struggled to understand on Monday whether his Operation Warp Speed to develop COVID-19 vaccines should be considered a resounding success.
Mr. Trump frequently touts his first-term vaccine effort as a historic scientific achievement. Yet his second-term health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has a long history of vaccine skepticism that led to the recent departure of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez and other top officials.
The president openly grappled with the disconnect in a Truth Social post on Labor Day.
“It is very important that the Drug Companies justify the success of their various Covid Drugs. Many people think they are a miracle that saved Millions of lives,” Mr. Trump posted. “With CDC being ripped apart over this question, I want the answer, and I want it NOW.”
Drugmakers Pfizer and Moderna released pioneering mRNA vaccines in late 2020 that showed roughly 95% efficacy against symptomatic COVID-19. Yet the virus evolved, and the vaccines seem to wane over time, leading to confusion over how much impact they had against the coronavirus.
Scientists seemed to agree that COVID-19 vaccines won’t prevent you from getting COVID-19, period, though they can lessen the severity of disease and the risk of hospitalization or death.
A study of the 2024-2025 Pfizer shot in the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System found the shot was 68% effective against hospitalization.
Mr. Trump said in his post that drugmakers have shown him glowing data, but the details don’t seem to be seeping into the public consciousness.
Drugmakers “go off to the next ‘hunt’ and let everyone rip themselves apart, including Bobby Kennedy Jr. and CDC, trying to figure out the success or failure of the Drug Companies Covid work,” Mr. Trump posted. “They show me GREAT numbers and results, but they don’t seem to be showing them to many others. I want them to show them NOW, to CDC and the public, and clear up this MESS, one way or the other!!!”
Mr. Trump characterized the question as a matter of science and data, but he is also grappling with his first-term legacy and personnel divisions in his second term.
Ms. Monarez was fired after clashing with Mr. Kennedy over vaccine policy. She’d only been on the job for several weeks.
Other CDC officials resigned in protest after disagreeing with Mr. Kennedy’s overhaul of the agency’s Independent Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican who cast a key vote to confirm Mr. Kennedy, is concerned about the situation and says an upcoming ACIP meeting should be postponed.
Some scientists are worried the overhauled ACIP group will water down recommendations for COVID-19 shots and other vaccines.
The Food and Drug Administration recently approved 2025-2026 COVID-19 shots for persons older than 65 and persons under 65 with one or more health conditions, causing some critics to say it will be harder for younger Americans to get the shots if they want them.
Mr. Trump wants to know if his pandemic achievement remains a success.
“I hope OPERATION WARP SPEED was as ‘BRILLIANT’ as many say it was,” Mr. Trump posted. “If not, we all want to know about it, and why???”
The Washington Times reached out to Pfizer and Moderna, the leading COVID-19 vaccine makers, for comment.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.