Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday that the governors of Washington, Oregon and Nevada have signed on to California's working group, created to independently review any COVID-19 vaccines approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The three governors will identify and assign public health experts to join the group.
“This [committee] is focused on the ethics of distribution,” Newsom said during a press briefing Tuesday. “Who should be prioritized? How do we allocate the supplies?”
Newsom added that vulnerable communities should get priority for receiving the vaccine as supply becomes available.
Physicians and scientists with expertise in immunization and public health were first appointed to the working group last week.
One of the group’s tasks is to monitor data from vaccine trials. The governor said the committee should not cause any delays in the distribution of a potential vaccine.
“In fact, we would argue quite the contrary. It's going to increase transparency and trust ... to make sure that we're not doing anything to meet an arbitrary deadline or meet a political deadline,” he said. “We're not just going to take someone's assurance. We're going to make sure that we are objectively reviewing and able to put our stamp of approval."