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Gov. Gavin Newsom says California will independently review FDA-approved coronavirus vaccines

20 October 2020
 Dan Ackermann

California will "independently review" all coronavirus vaccines approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration for distribution, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced at a news conference Monday.

Why it matters: The move that comes days after NAID director Anthony Fauci said he had "strong confidence" in FDA-approved vaccines could cast further public doubt that the federal government could release a vaccine based on political motives, rather than safety and efficacy.

Of note: Newsom said he considers mid-2021 to be a realistic projection for when a vaccine could be publicly distributed, noting the "political polarization" around the issue.

  • "No matter who the next president is, we're going to maintain our vigilance," he added.

What else he's saying: "Of course, we don’t take anyone's word for it," Newsom said, announcing the establishment of the Scientific Safety Review Workgroup.

  • "We will do our own independently reviewed process with our world-class experts.
  • "These experts … will independently review and monitor any vaccine trials to guarantee safety, to guarantee equity and to guarantee the transparency of the distribution of our vaccines."

The big picture: Faucitold CBS Evening News last week that scientists should know by November or December whether potential COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective and that vaccine candidates undergoing clinical trials could be widely available by April if this is proven to be the case.

  • Health officials testified on Capitol Hill in September that the vaccine approval process would be based on safety and efficacy, not politics.
  • The FDA also stressed in new guidelines last month it would toughen the requirements for a coronavirus vaccine emergency authorization.
  • The FDA did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.