Fox News host asks ‘what took so long’ with vaccine moments after co-host asked if it was rushed

Within minutes of the FDA’s full approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid vaccine, one Fox News host asked if the process was rushed, while another asked what had taken so long.

“The FDA is just giving full approval to Pfizer’s Covid vaccine. It’s the first vaccine to get that full approval, and in record time too,” America’s Newsroom’s Dana Perino reported. “That has critics asking if the process was rushed. Was it?” Perino then invited paediatrician and former testing czar Admiral Brett Giroir to weigh in.

“Well, this is a very big moment in Operation Warp Speed history and the history of our vaccines, our fight against the pandemic,” Giroir said. “Prior to this, we had emergency use authorization. What that really meant is that the public health benefits outweigh the known and potential harms. What this says today is we know the benefits, we know the harms and this vaccine is safe and effective and every confidence can be given to that.”

“Americans should feel really good, even better about getting the vaccine,” Giroir asserted.

Host Bill Hemmer then asked what had taken the process so long, despite his co-host having just said that critics were “asking if the process was rushed.”

“Well, it is a complicated process and I know there are many, many good professionals, incredible professionals at the FDA, I was acting commissioner,” Giroir said in reply. “It does take a while because all the data is looked at in detail, every page is turned, the facilities are inspected.”

As a network, Fox has been proactive in encouraging its viewers to get the vaccine via its covid vaccine finder, PSAs and a primetime town hall event they hosted in February.