Updated at 11:20 a.m. ET
Amid criticism from Democrats that politics may be guiding decisions at the nation's top health agencies, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration told Congress on Wednesday that a coronavirus vaccine would not be approved until it met "vigorous expectations" for safety and effectiveness.
"Decisions to authorize or approve any such vaccine or therapeutic will be made by the dedicated career staff at FDA through our thorough review processes, and science will guide our decisions," FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn told senators.
Continued Hahn: "FDA will not permit any pressure from anyone to change that. I will fight for science ... I will fight for the integrity of the agency, and I will put the interests of the American people before anything else."
Four of the top federal officials responsible for managing the coronavirus pandemic are testifying in front of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Adm. Brett Giroir, the assistant secretary of health who is in charge of coronavirus testing, and Hahn all are being questioned.
The hearing follows confirmation that the U.S. death toll from the coronavirus pandemic has topped 200,000 people.
Watching the hearing live here.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the committee's ranking member, called on Hahn and Redfield to testify earlier this month, citing what they called "political interference" in the public health agencies.
"It is painfully clear that the Trump Administration won't stop the political interference which is threatening our response to this pandemic and putting lives in jeopardy on its own, so it is up to Congress to act," Murray wrote in a statement on Tuesday, introducing legislation that would create a task force to investigate such incidences.
There have been a number of controversial guidance changes from the CDC and FDA over the last few weeks.
In late August, for example, the CDC quietly stopped recommending that asymptomatic people be tested for the coronavirus. (The CDC updated that guidance last week.)
Hahn came under fire on the eve of the Republican National Convention for overstating the potential impact of an FDA authorization to treat the coronavirus with plasma.
This week, the CDC posted and then removed guidance saying the coronavirus spreads through aerosol particles.
There are also concerns about efforts to fast-track a vaccine for COVID-19 and the timeline for getting it to the general population. On Friday, Trump insisted "every American" would have a vaccine by April. Redfield testified last week that it could be six to nine months after the FDA authorizes a vaccine before it is widely distributed. Potential vaccines are currently being tested.
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