Head of US FDA’s advisory group: ‘We never expected Covid vaccines to be so good, so effective’

Dr Arnold Monto says he watched as a vaccine was developed both faster and more effectively than any dared to hope - but says it's unlikely to give permanent protection'

It is very likely that in the Before Times," few Americans knew that independent experts advised the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the safety and efficacy of vaccines, and that the FDA usually took their advice.

Less than a year into the Covid-19 pandemic, that quickly changed.