[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 193 (Thursday, November 12, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6657-S6658]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              CORONAVIRUS

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, last week, the country and the world 
received some really great news that we have longed for quite a while 
to hear. A major American drug company, together with its German 
partner, announced that their candidate for a COVID-19 vaccine appears 
to be at least 90 percent effective in trials. That is 90 percent--nine 
zero. Dr. Fauci called these preliminary results extraordinary. Another 
expert called the news ``as good as you could hope for.''
  Of course, tests and trials are ongoing. The FDA will perform its own 
thorough review, which will include analyzing months of safety data. 
The American people should rest assured there are appropriate and 
necessary measures to ensure the safety and efficacy of any vaccine 
before it is rolled out to the American people, but this will proceed 
with the lifesaving urgency that is called for.
  Right now, COVID-19 is continuing to spread across the country at 
rates that are not sustainable and which we must try to slow. 
Yesterday, my home State of Kentucky just logged its highest ever daily 
total--2,700 new cases. The positivity rate of our tests is the highest 
since early May.
  It is urgent that all Americans continue the smart steps that have 
gotten us this far: wearing masks, social distancing, adapting our 
plans and routines. This virus is not going to magically leave us alone 
if we decide we are fed up with taking precautions, but thank God and 
thanks to the brilliant scientists, we may look back on this hopeful 
announcement as the beginning of the end of this terrible ordeal.
  I said back in March that our country was about to meet a whole lot 
of brandnew heroes. Many were going to be doctors and nurses. Others 
were going to be essential workers who kept society going. Some were 
going to be the men and women who worked like crazy in labs and 
research centers until we had this virus beaten. But every single 
American has a role.
  As cases continue to climb, the simple advice--wear a mask, practice 
social distancing, wash your hands--is now just as important as ever. 
So, of course, discovering the vaccine will only be a part of the 
battle. Once one or more candidates have been proven effective and 
safe, it will be a second Herculean undertaking to scale up production 
and distribute doses of the vaccine throughout our country. This is why 
this Senate and the Trump administration have been on the case for 
months.
  As part of the historic CARES Act, we created Operation Warp Speed--a 
historic effort that combined interagency government work with public-

[[Page S6658]]

private partnerships. This was a 21st-century Manhattan Project for a 
COVID vaccine. We helped fund research and development for several 
firms. We committed billions of dollars in advance purchase agreements. 
We flattened regulatory barriers to speed the process. We provided 
backing so that companies could begin mass-producing vaccine doses 
before clinical trials had fully concluded so we would have a head 
start on whichever ones wound up working.
  If things stay on track, we hope to have a safe and effective vaccine 
in a timeframe that will be absolutely historic. President Trump's 
administration and this Congress should take huge pride in the 
groundwork we laid.
  Now, strangely enough, some are finding it challenging to simply 
applaud this unambiguous good news. The Democratic Governor of New York 
opined a few days ago that it was ``bad news'' that a vaccine 
breakthrough may have been reached, because President Trump is still in 
office.
  Now, I understand Governor Cuomo has found the time during this 
pandemic to write and publish a self-congratulatory book on 
leadership--this, notwithstanding that his own State has been 
absolutely pummeled by the disease and his own administration 
intentionally sent thousands of COVID-19 positive patients into 
vulnerable nursing homes.
  The Governor has the temerity to say this vaccine breakthrough is 
partially ``bad news''--partially ``bad news''?--because it occurred 
under the Trump administration. He gestured vaguely toward unspecified 
concerns about distribution. I guess he would have preferred the 
lifesaving breakthroughs to have been delayed longer, with more 
American deaths in the meantime.
  The irony, as our colleague the Senator from Tennessee has pointed 
out, is that the plans that are in place put States in the driver's 
seat for arranging distribution and making sure the most vulnerable 
citizens receive access. The Federal Government is there to provide 
guidance and support. As Senator Alexander said, the Governor of New 
York might want to devote more time and attention to developing this 
crucial plan rather than undermining public confidence for the sake of 
politics.
  Sadly, this isn't anything new. Just a few weeks ago, the Democratic 
Governors of both New York and California both began openly second-
guessing the Food and Drug Administration and doubting its ability to 
assess the safety of a vaccine. There were suggestions that blue States 
may set up their own State review boards and then withhold lifesaving 
vaccines from their own people for who knows how long until this extra 
obstacle had been hurdled. This is where they are. Vaccines aren't 
vaccines if a Republican is President until New York and California 
reinvent their own miniature FDAs.
  To be clear, Americans purchase nearly 4 billion prescriptions every 
single year--4 billion prescriptions--trusting the expertise and 
professionalism of the FDA. That is the trusted authority. Nobody is 
crying out for liberal Governors to add their own Good Housekeeping 
seal of approval, let alone potentially delaying the end of COVID-19 to 
do so.
  If this vaccine proves to be the one, citizens in New York and 
California should not have it withheld from them because their 
Governors care more about performatively opposing President Trump than 
about hard science. This reminds me of when the junior Senator from 
California declared back in September, during her Vice Presidential 
campaign, that she might hesitate to trust a vaccine.
  The whole country understands that our Democratic friends are not 
charter members of the Donald Trump fan club. We know that. They do not 
need to dabble in the early stages of anti-vax conspiracy theories to 
prove it. In fact, for the sake of public health and public confidence 
and saving lives, they have a moral obligation to stop.
  If a vaccine has been found and distribution can begin soon, that is 
good news, not bad news. It would be a major victory for our country 
and the world, fueled by American innovation and aided by Operation 
Warp Speed, thanks to this Senate and the Trump administration. It 
would save thousands and thousands of American lives, and public 
confidence will be essential.
  So this is where we are. Leaders on all sides have a duty to act 
accordingly.

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