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The pharmaceutical industry does not want you to worry about the safety or efficacy of a future Covid-19 vaccine. Officials from five major vaccine makers — AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Moderna, and Pfizer — all used their testimony before a House investigative subcommittee on Tuesday to push back on concerns that the Food and Drug Administration might prematurely approve a vaccine for the novel coronavirus and thereby put Americans at risk. (Garde, 7/21)

Companies behind leading coronavirus vaccine candidates told lawmakers Tuesday they're not worried that political pressure will lower standards for approval of any eventual shot — but they need the government to decide who gets it first. President Donald Trump has repeatedly promised a vaccine by the end of the year, raising concerns that his administration will rush to approve one without adequate proof that it works. (Owermohle, 7/21)

Drug company executives sought to reassure House Democrats that the federal government is not lowering its approval standards, and any coronavirus vaccine that gains approval will be safe. Executives from Moderna, Janssen, Merck, AstraZeneca and Pfizer told lawmakers during an Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing Tuesday that despite the unprecedented speed, any vaccine candidate will be safe. (Weixel, 7/21)

Representatives of five companies developing coronavirus vaccines testified before a House panel Tuesday about their quest to produce shots in record time — and distribute them worldwide. Pharmaceutical executives’ appearances on the Hill in recent years have almost entirely been tied to the heated debate over high drug costs, from soaring insulin prices to patent games that limit generic competition. (Owermohle, 7/21)