What to expect from the FDA's COVID-19 vaccine meeting today

Yahoo Finance’s Alexis Christoforous, Brian Sozzi, and Anjalee Khemlani discuss today’s FDA meeting about COVID-19.

Video Transcript

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: US health regulators are set to meet today to discuss the details on how to move forward with a COVID-19 vaccine. Yahoo Finance's health care reporter, Anjalee Khemlani, joining us now with the details. So, Anjalee, what is on the agenda for today?

ANJALEE KHEMLANI: Thanks, Alexis. So this is the much-awaited, much-anticipated meeting of the Vaccine Advisory Committee to the FDA. And this is where they'll be able to flesh out some of the details when it comes to what will exactly go into the guidelines for an authorization of a vaccine.

While we are already privy to some of that information as it has been reported, one of those key things having been the two month waiting after the second dose is received by recipients of any vaccine that requires two doses. Observation period. In order to then ensure safety data. That's one of the key things that was already sort of agreed upon by the companies.

So it remains to be seen what other details will come to light. Not much in terms of excitement as expected. But this is all happening against the backdrop, of course, of the Trump administration pushing for a vaccine to be approved as early as possible. Initially, that timeline looked at election day. But of course, because of this two-month window, that is no longer on the table.

And, again, also in the backdrop is the frustrations being reported between FDA Commissioner Hahn and Health Secretary Alex Azar. Politico, this morning, talking about Secretary Azar thinking about ousting FDA Commissioner Hahn after he took that step to take on that extra month of observations. A lot going on in terms of political backdrop. But as it stands right now, it looks like most of the scientists and experts are on the same page. It remains to be seen exactly what has been discussed today.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: All right. Anjalee Khemlani, thank you.