Dr. Scott Gottlieb said Monday he sees promising signs that Covid vaccines are effective in reducing the spread of the virus from person to person, in addition to their well-documented ability to protect against serious diseases.
In an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box”, the former commissioner for food and drug administration warns that although the early data looks positive, there is still some uncertainty. “I think there is a decrease in the transfer. The question is: what is its scope?” said Gottlieb, a member of Pfizer’s board.
The vaccine from the company, which was developed together with the German medicine manufacturer BioNTech, is one of three that receive FDA approval for emergency use. The other two are made by Moderna and, more recently, Johnson & Johnson, which received limited permission from the U.S. regulator on Saturday.
The FDA has issued emergency use authorization for the trio of vaccinations after individually determining that it is safe and effective in preventing recipients from developing symptomatic Covid disease, particularly severe cases and deaths. What has been less clear since the U.S. administered shots of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines in December is specific data on limiting the spread of viruses; this is one reason why doctors have even encouraged those who have been vaccinated to continue to take precautions.
In its press release announcing J & J’s vaccine, for example, permission for emergency use was given, the FDA said there was no ‘evidence that the spread of SARS-CoV-2 is from person to person’.
However, Gottlieb said there is reason to be optimistic that the vaccines will only do so, even as ‘the definitive study’ proving that it has yet to appear. “The collection of evidence is very convincing that there is a reduction in the transfer,” said Gottlieb, who led the FDA in the Trump administration from 2017 to 2019.
He pointed to two studies conducted in Israel, one of the leading countries for vaccinating its population, suggesting that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine reduces virus transmission. Gottlieb also said that in his trial, J&J found a 74% decrease in participants who developed asymptomatic infection. Gottlieb said that the finding of J&J is a fairly good indication that the transmission is decreasing. ‘
“I think most people agree … people who are vaccinated are less likely to transmit the infection if they do become infected themselves,” Gottlieb said, adding that he had a more definitive answer “within expect the next month or two. “
Earlier Monday on “Squawk Box”, Alex Gorsky, chairman and CEO of J&J, said that the company’s initial findings on the prevention of asymptomatic infection were encouraging and indicated the possibility of a “big dive” in the Covid pandemic. to place. “But we need to collect more. We would expect to collect it literally in the coming months if we continue to follow these patients in the trial,” he said.
Disclosure: Scott Gottlieb is a contributor to CNBC and is a member of the boards of Pfizer, drafting genetic tests Tempus, healthcare technology company Aetion and the biotechnology company Illumina. He also serves as co-chair of the ‘Healthy Sail Panel’ of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and Royal Caribbean.