US President Donald Trump on Monday demanded that pharmaceutical companies provide evidence to justify the effectiveness of their Covid drugs, saying there is disagreement over whether the treatments actually saved lives.
“With CDC being ripped apart over this question, I want the answer, and I want it NOW,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. He said he had been shown extraordinary information from Pfizer and others but claimed the data had not been made public. He urged greater transparency to “clear up this mess.”
The remarks came just days after the Food and Drug Administration approved updated Covid vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Novavax-Sanofi, but only for individuals at higher risk of severe illness.
Trump’s comments also followed major upheaval at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last week, he fired CDC Director Susan Monarez after she refused to resign, while four other senior officials, including immunisation chief Demetre Daskalakis, stepped down. The departures came amid sweeping changes pushed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, who has overhauled vaccine policy, dismissed staff, and scrapped studies on mRNA technology.
Kennedy has described his campaign as an effort to restore trust in the CDC, but public health experts warn his measures are weakening the agency. Critics say cuts to staffing and budgets have already compromised its ability to function.
Trump has largely gone along with Kennedy’s moves, though his latest comments suggest some unease. While not endorsing Kennedy’s position that Covid vaccines were harmful, the president questioned whether Operation Warp Speed, which he previously praised as a landmark achievement, truly delivered on its promise.
“I hope Operation Warp Speed was as brilliant as many say it was. If not, we all want to know about it, and why?” Trump wrote.
