The recent development of the government's effort to produce a vaccine that would combat the COVID-19 pandemic drew public attention especially from the mainstream media -- particularly a network that has been very critical of President Donald Trump.
CNN host Jake Tapper expressed his amazement on the Operation Warp Speed's breakthrough after Pfizer and Moderna undisclosed the vaccine efforts progress. Moderna recently announced that its vaccine was proven to be 94.5% effective while a week earlier Pfizer said that its vaccine is at more than 90% rate.
Pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute assured the public that vaccines from both companies did not use cells from aborted fetuses throughout the entire process, earlier reports indicated.
In a discussion on air, Tapper expressed how he sees the progress and called it an unmitigated success. "We should acknowledge that the Moderna vaccine was done with funds from Operation Warp Speed and the Pfizer one has [Warp Speed] funding when it comes to the distribution and manufacture," the CNN host said.
The CNN anchor further explained that it is important for people working so hard to get credit for the success, recognizing President Donald Trump as one because he "was the one who OK'd it."
Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent, also expressed his amazement at the speed of the project's pace.
"Yeah, no doubt. The pace of medical innovation has been forever changed. I mean, three months - Jan. 11 - is when they got the sequence of this virus," he said. "By March 16 - two months later - shots were going into arms as part of these clinical trials. I couldn't believe it when I saw that pace," Gupta replied, according to Christian Headlines.
He noted that the development is worth celebrating, considering how it usually takes years before vaccines get approved. What's more, Gupta noted that now, there's "early data to be very optimistiv about."
Tapper then gave a rare congratulatory message to Trump's team. "To all of the scientists, everyone behind this all the way up to President Trump and Vice President Pence, congratulations on this great accomplishment," he said.
President Trump posted Tapper's video discussion with Gupta and thanked him for it.
THANK YOU! pic.twitter.com/DrtsiD71i4
"” Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 18, 2020
Operation Warp Speed is a partnership project of the federal government and the private sector aiming to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus. The team launched the project in spring and aims to have the vaccine available by the end of 2020. True enough, the Trump administration assured the public that the vaccine will be out by the end of December. They will prioritize to vaccinate health care workers, front liners, and people most vulnerable to the COVID-19 attack. The White House closely monitored every milestone of the project. In summer and spring, the office of the POTUS called it a landmark effort. In July, it was called a "groundbreaking partnership between the Federal Government, the scientific community, and private sector to develop and deliver vaccines in record time." Then, in November, the two most powerful men in the country dubbed it as a "record" effort.
President @realDonaldTrump promised the American people a safe and effective vaccine by the end of 2020 and he DELIVERED! Because of his leadership & Operation Warp Speed, Pfizer completed its trial with a vaccine that is 95% effective on patients, including Seniors. https://t.co/wOh7A0KQzD "” Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) November 18, 2020
