The chief adviser to Operation Warp Speed, Dr. Moncef Slaoui, has submitted his resignation at the request of the incoming Biden team, according to a plan that would see him stay for a month to help with the transition, according to two people familiar with the situation. .
Slaoui’s role at the helm of vaccine development for the unprecedented government effort is expected to wane after Jan. 20, people said, who declined to be named because the plan is not yet public. It would end on February 12th.
It is unclear who will take over the scientific leadership of the Biden team focused on Covid vaccines later, or whether anyone will appoint that role. There are already two licensed vaccines in the U.S., with three more in final-stage clinical trials. Jeff Zients is the Biden coordinator of the Covid-19 response, while Bechara Choucair will be the Covid-19 vaccine coordinator, focused on accelerating vaccine delivery.
Slaoui’s current contract includes 30 days in advance of the resolution and Biden’s team has not asked Slaoui to stay past, one of the people said.
GlaxoSmithKline pharmaceutical executive Moncef Slaoui, who will serve as chief adviser on finding a vaccine against the coronavirus disease pandemic (COVID-19), speaks as President Donald Trump listens during a disease response event of the coronavirus in the White House Rock Garden in Washington.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
Slaoui had previously said he planned to leave the post after two vaccines and two therapies for Covid-19 hit the market, something that happened last month with Moderna’s vaccine withdrawal. Last week he said he “decided to expand it in order to ensure that the operation continues to operate in the same way that it has been carried out through the transition of the administration”. He noted, however, that “we are approaching the point where my added value is more limited.”
Although the initial release of the vaccine has been criticized, the speed of its development, which Slaoui oversaw, exceeded expectations: two vaccines have been authorized in the United States with 95% effectiveness in disease prevention. , by Pfizer and Moderna. Key results are expected from Johnson & Johnson on its vaccine, the first to offer the potential for a single dose, in a few weeks. It was the fastest vaccine development in history.
Slaoui was criticized when he took the job for his links to the pharmaceutical industry; he resigned from the board of Moderna at the same time as his role was announced. He sold his shares to the company and said he gave up their value during the few days he held them while at the helm of Operation Warp Speed.
However, he refused to sell his shares to GlaxoSmithKline, where he spent 30 years and oversaw the development of the vaccine, and considered the stock market to retire.
He was criticized in particular by Senator Elizabeth Warren, and responded in September to video message, saying he is a registered Democrat, but “did not hesitate” to take on the role “because this pandemic is bigger than any of us.”
Slaoui was paid $ 1,000 for his work overseeing Operation Warp Speed, which he said he planned to donate to scientific research.