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FORT MYERS, Florida, October 21, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. government will partner with CVS and Walgreens to “deliver” a free COVID-19 vaccine to the elderly in nursing homes, despite no coronavirus vaccine having yet been approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 

This partnership is part of the U.S. government’s “Operation Warp Speed.” President Trump has repeatedly said the military will distribute the vaccine. 

According to the U. S. Department of Defense’s news release, the partnership between the government and the pharmacies is aimed at quickly and efficiently providing vaccinations for residents of long-term care homes. 

“Today I’m thrilled to announce we have just finalized a partnership with CVS and Walgreens…to immediately deliver the vaccine directly to nursing homes at no cost to our seniors,” the president said. “Once you have those vaccines, these are very effective, once you have those vaccines, you can open the doors and say ‘Here I am!’” he continued

 

The goal of Operation Warp Speed is to begin delivery of a vaccine by January 2021. The government’s program has been criticized by John Paul II Medical Research Institute founder, Dr. Alan Moy, as being too rushed to offer a safe, reliable, and ethical vaccine. In an August 26 article for LifeSiteNews, he wrote that the initiative “is placing all of its financial resources towards vaccine approaches that lack a track record of success.” He also expressed concern that animal trials are not required for vaccines developed under the program, noting that in previous preclinical studies, “some animals developed a more serious pneumonia with SARS vaccines when subsequently challenged with a live SARS virus than in non-vaccinated animals.” 

Further, the four vaccines funded through Operation Warp Speed that are currently furthest along in clinical trials make use of cell lines derived from aborted babies at some stage of their development and testing. AstraZeneca and Janssen Research, a division of Johnson & Johnson, both used aborted fetal cells in all stages of their vaccine’s development. Moderna and Pfizer’s vaccine has used them in confirmatory lab tests. Together, these four companies have received about $7 billion from Operation Warp Speed funding. 

Recently, Janssen research suspended its phase 3 trials due to “a serious medical complication in one of its participants, while AstraZeneca has resumed trials after pausing its trials when a participant fell ill.  

In addition to the noting the unethical use of aborted fetal tissue of the front-running vaccines, Moy expressed scepticism about their potential efficacy, especially for the old and immunocompromised. He emphasized that they are they are not designed to provide long-term immunity, and that patients will likely have to receive boosters. “If boosters are required, adenovirus-based vaccines, like those sponsored by Janssen and AstraZeneca, cannot be re-administered because prior exposure to the adenovirus vaccine will elicit an immune rejection against the vaccine, thereby deeming it ineffective,” he wrote. 

RELATED: 

Why rushing a COVID vaccine will likely fail to provide a safe and effective immunity 

Another COVID vaccine using aborted baby cell line pauses trials after participant’s ‘unexplained illness’ 

Trials of UK COVID vaccine derived from aborted baby cell line paused after participant falls ill