An Open Letter to Mitt Romney
Will You Choose Integrity or Expediency?
Dear Mr. Romney,
I have a simple question for you. First, a few facts:
Fact #1: Over the weekend, it was reported by several news outlets that Joe Biden will ask you to be his Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary should he actually ascend the presidency.
Fact #2: Today, (Monday, November 9, 2020) pharmaceutical manufacturer Pfizer announced its COVID-19 vaccine test results (a stunning breakthrough, really). The company reported a 90% success rate in its clinical trials of 44,000+ patients.
Fact #3: On Wednesday, July 22, 2020, it was reported by Business Wire that the US government had placed an initial order of 100 million doses of Pfizer’s potential COVID-19 vaccine for $1.95 billion dollars, with an option to acquire up to 500 million additional doses. Americans would receive the vaccine for free, consistent with the Trump administration’s commitment to provide free access to COVID-19 vaccines to American citizens. The terms of Pfizer’s agreement with the US government were formalized by executed agreement with HHS and the Department of Defense (DOD), expressly as part of the Trump administration’s “Operation Warp Speed.” Business Wire went on to note that Pfizer and its development partner BioNTech remained on track to begin an anticipated “Phase 2b/3 safety and efficacy trial” in July, seek FDA regulatory review as early as October 2020, and then produce up to 100 million doses by the end of 2020 and potentially 1.3 billion doses by the end of 2021.
Fact #4: As reported on statnews.com today, Pfizer made clear that the company could easily have wrapped up a key, final part of its trial analysis last month and made today’s announcement in October, giving proof to President Trump’s claim that a major, positive announcement was coming before the election. (One can only guess at the effect such a pre-election announcement would have had on voters.) Pfizer inexplicably chose, however, to keep critical samples in storage until the day AFTER the election for no clinically-necessary reason, consequently pushing back the company’s announcement to today.
Fact #5: Kathrin Jansen, a senior vice president and the head of vaccine research and development at Pfizer, said the following in an interview. “We were never part of the Warp Speed. We have never taken any money from the U.S. government, or from anyone.”
Fact #6: You’re a businessman, so you know full well that Pfizer may have received some money in advance, or, at the very least, will receive the $1.95 billion as part of its agreement with HHS and DOD upon approval of the vaccine by the FDA. You also know this is as standard as it gets when it comes to one entity developing product for another…the payday comes at the end. Ms. Jansen is clearly gaslighting.
Fact #7: The mainstream media and Democrats are already crediting Joe Biden with Pfizer’s successful trial, sometimes directly and sometimes indirectly.
Fact #8: You’ve presented yourself as the arbiter of integrity in all things governmental (although usually only when it applies to President Trump…you rarely if ever hold Democrats to account).
The facts are what they are. So, here’s my question: As an arbiter of governmental integrity, are you willing to risk your potential cabinet post in a Biden administration by calling out the media and the Democrats, and giving credit to President Trump for this much welcome advance that has come as part of his fight against COVID-19? (Or, phrased differently, which is more important to you, integrity or expediency?)
I’ll be watching the airwaves for your response.
Best,
Kevin Ray Hadlock
