California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the creation of a new task force that will review the safety of all COVID-19 vaccines that receive approval from the federal government before distributing them to the public.
“Of course, we don’t take anyone’s word for it,” Newsom said at a news conference on Monday. “We will do our own independently reviewed process with our world-class experts that just happen to live here in the state of California.”
Physicians and scientists, working with the California Department of Public Health, will comprise the panel. Newsom’s announcement comes amid concerns that federal vaccine development initiatives led by the Trump White House have become too politicized, leading to an erosion in public trust that the accelerated vaccine will be safe.
“No matter who the next president is, we’re going to maintain our vigilance,” Newsom said. “We are going to do what California is well known to do, and that is to make sure that we have a redundancy, and that we maintain our vigilance to have a second set of eyes on the things that are being asserted and the information that’s being provided.”
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said earlier Monday that he does not trust the Trump administration to prove a COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective. He announced last month that the state will form its own independent task forces to review every vaccine that the Trump administration authorizes for safety and effectiveness and how vaccines will be distributed.
