I'm honored to be receiving this vaccine today, and Americans can be confident in this vaccine and each vaccine that the FDA authorizes for COVID-19. These vaccines are going to save so many lives, and help bring this pandemic to an end.
Thank you, everyone, for joining us at the NIH today on this proud and happy occasion.
I want to express my deep gratitude to Dr. Collins, Dr. Fauci, and so many members of the NIH team for their hard work throughout this pandemic, and especially on various elements of Operation Warp Speed.
I also want to recognize and thank the staff of the NIH Clinical Center in particular: You have continued to provide care for patients who badly need it during this difficult time, and your work is heroic. I myself am a patient of the NIH Clinical Center.
I'm so pleased to be here for this official kick-off of the vaccine developed by the NIH Vaccine Research Center, Moderna, BARDA, and other research partners, and I'm pleased to be getting this vaccine myself.
We've all said it is nothing short of miraculous to have a safe and effective vaccine within one year of a virus becoming known to the world.
But when we need a medical miracle, we know where to look: We look to the brilliant, dedicated scientists at the NIH, and we look to passionate, relentless researchers at America's innovative biotech companies.
As a member of the HHS family, it fills me with great pride that the NIH and other parts of HHS played such a significant role in developing this vaccine, which will save thousands and thousands of lives and help bring this dark chapter to an end. In the long and storied history of the NIH, this is one of your finest achievements.
I also want to recognize the years of work and investment that went into delivering this vaccine. It took more than just one remarkable year, but years of dedication to develop the mRNA vaccine technology that many once considered a longshot.
Once we have defeated this pandemic, I believe that both the success of Operation Warp Speed and the mRNA platform technology pioneered by NIH and BARDA should reinvigorate our optimism about the frontiers of medical science and how we can bring the public and private sectors together to tackle our toughest challenges.
When I look back on my time at HHS, putting together Operation Warp Speed will be one of my proudest memories not only because OWS vaccines will save lives, but because they have reminded Americans to think big.
When the government and industry charge together toward a really bold goal, we can achieve unbelievable things. I know that these kinds of efforts have been a focus for Dr. Francis Collins.
The ACTIV partnership that he mentioned, which he's spearheaded under OWS, involves more than 20 pharmaceutical companies, other government agencies, and other partners, and the NIH has also continued to expand its Accelerating Medicines Partnership for other serious health challenges, like Alzheimer's and schizophrenia.
To close, I will note that, as extraordinary as this scientific achievement is, getting this vaccine is more or less just like any other vaccine we receive. We have to follow the right mask-wearing and social-distancing precautions today, but otherwise, this is just like NIH healthcare workers or HHS employees getting their annual flu shot.
Americans should also know that this vaccine has been through the kind of searching and independent review that they expect for any drug or vaccine at the Food and Drug Administration.
I made it a personal priority to ensure that we were not cutting any corners in this development process, that the standards and data being used were fully transparent, and that the final decisions made on these vaccines were made by the same career FDA scientists who would make the decisions on any other vaccine.
I'm honored to be receiving this vaccine today, and Americans can be confident in this vaccine and each vaccine that the FDA authorizes for COVID-19. These vaccines are going to save so many lives, and help bring this pandemic to an end.
Thank you all for having me here today, and, on behalf of a grateful country, thank you to everyone at the NIH for your work this year.
