Drugmakers are hailing great results with COVID-19 boosters and shots for school-age children, enthusing a pandemic-weary public and markets but flustering scientists who say it is important to look at real data before getting too optimistic.
Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday reported that a second dose of its vaccine provided 94% protection against symptomatic disease. The announcement gave its shares on Wall Street a boost in early trading.
Pfizer announced Monday that its scientists found an effective dose for children ages 5 to 11, raising expectations of a child vaccine by Halloween, before outside experts study trial results or the Food and Drug Administration has its say.
“Pfizer & J&J touting new vaccine results without a large package of data. We’re seeing too much science by press release,” Lawrence Gostin, a global health law professor at Georgetown University, tweeted Tuesday.
“Science by press release” has been a common refrain from scientists who have cheered advancements but worry that company statements create public expectations before the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention look at the data and determine whether it withstands scrutiny.
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