President Trump hands a pen to Vice President Mike Pence after signing an executive order at the Operation Warp Speed vaccine conference in Washington, D.C., U.S., Dec. 8, 2020.
Experts say the Operation Warp Speed, created by the Trump Administration to develop vaccines, is similar to the U.S. industrial mobilization efforts during World War II. Through a partnership between the government, military and private sector, the U.S. vaccine industry has been able to deliver new vaccines within a seemingly impossible timeline.
Former President Trump launched the program in May 2020 with a promise to deliver a safe COVID-19 (Chinese Communist virus) vaccine within a few months. At the Time, many experts warned that such a vaccine breakthrough could take years. The president’s ambitious goals discouraged even these experts.
In an address to the nation on March 11, the first anniversary of the closures imposed because of the outbreak, President Joe Biden also said in this regard, “To develop, produce and distribute a vaccine in record time is a true scientific miracle.”
He said, “This is one of the most extraordinary achievements that any country can achieve.” But he made no mention of the “Operation Fast Track” led by Trump.
Some in the media have criticized President Biden for “coming down and picking peaches” to take sole credit for Trump’s vaccine development and rollout, and for not acknowledging the work of the previous administration, under which the vaccine was developed so quickly.
When asked about it the next day, White House press secretary Jen Psaki defended the president’s remarks. She said Biden had “praised medical experts, scientists and the work of the previous administration in the past.”
“The main mission of Operation Velocity is to accelerate the development, production and marketing of a vaccine for the Chinese Communist virus. The program selects the most promising vaccine candidates and provides support for their rapid development. It also leveraged the logistical capabilities of the U.S. military to establish a secure vaccine supply chain and handle the distribution of the vaccine.
Arthur Herman, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, told the Epoch Times that the production of millions of vaccines in record time is a “manufacturing miracle.
Herman said, “What ‘Operation Velocity’ has accomplished could also be used in other areas of health care, as well as vaccinations for other diseases.”
According to him, the Chinese Communist virus Epidemic was a “medical version of Pearl Harbor,” and Operation Fast was an “extraordinary achievement,” similar to the industrial mobilization model.
According to the New York Times, the leaders of Operation Velocity were inspired by Herman’s best-selling book, Freedom’s Forge. The book is about how American manufacturers helped the United States and its allies win the war.
Published in 2012, the book tells the forgotten story of when American businessmen, engineers and workers built two-thirds of all Allied military equipment in World War II. This included: 86,000 tanks, 2.5 million trucks, 286,000 warplanes, 8,800 naval ships, and B-29 bombers and atomic bombs.
In many ways, Operation Velocity resembled wartime industrial mobilization, when large automobile and electric companies converted their manufacturing industries to produce war materiel in record time.
Vaccine development often begins in the research laboratories of universities, medical centers or small biotechnology companies. The entire process from research to manufacturing to marketing can take nearly six years. However, during this health crisis Operation Fast changed the focus from a laboratory process to an industrial process and mobilized large pharmaceutical companies to develop and produce vaccines using a network of domestic facilities.
In addition, the program sets clear goals and strict deadlines, similar to a wartime war plan. The program’s goal is to reach 20 million vaccines by December 2020.
This helps all parties focus their efforts on the goal, as well as meeting the deadline, Herman said. It also helps speed up the FDA approval process and eases bureaucratic constraints. The operation also recruited many people from government and military cadres.
Herman cited Trump as one of the “heroes” of the operation.
I don’t think you can exclude him in any way,” he said. He foresaw the benefits of quick and swift militarization.”
On March 10, Trump released a statement saying that if his administration had not acted quickly during the outbreak, the U.S. would not have a vaccine now.
In an emailed statement, he said, “When they vaccinate against the Chinese Communist virus, I want everyone to remember that if I were not president, you would not be able to get that ‘wonderful shot’ for five years, and may not even have been able to get that vaccination. ”
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