In the early months of the COVID pandemic — a pandemic that resulted in governmental leaders installing a number of draconian measures that, in many cases, inflicted more damage on people’s lives than the pandemic itself — the promise of a vaccine to protect people against the virus was a welcome prospect.

In this environment, President Donald Trump initiated and touted Operation Warp Speed, a program designed to both fund and eliminate hurdles for major pharmaceutical companies, enabling them to quickly develop and produce a vaccine to counter the novel virus. This included the removal of numerous testing barriers and, controversially, the protection from legal liability for the pharmaceutical companies.

Furthermore, during Operation Warp Speed’s race to develop a vaccine, considerable effort was made to discourage people from using other drugs and treatments that might prove effective against the virus. (And by “considerable effort,” I mean ruthless suppression and censorship.) Indeed, the prevailing narrative was that the only medical solution to this pandemic was the development of a novel vaccine, period.

When Joe Biden took office, his administration further solidified this narrative by utilizing the power of the government to mandate the COVID vaccine in every area where he could conceivably claim federal authority. Ironically, this heavy-handed approach only stirred a greater negative attitude toward the vaccine (and vaccines more generally), the very opposite of what the Biden administration was purportedly seeking to do.

It also didn’t help that, in many instances, the mRNA COVID vaccines failed to produce the kind of protection against the virus that governmental authorities, such as former NIAID Director Anthony Fauci, were widely touting.

Despite the growing negative views of the mRNA vaccines among his base, Trump has, for the most part, held them in a positive light, even expressing frustration that he did not receive credit for his Operation Warp Speed’s record-setting accomplishment.

Until now. Consider the recent dust-up at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. firing the CDC director, apparently due to disagreements over changes to vaccine protocols and recommendations. On Monday, Trump weighed in on Truth Social, posting the following:

It is very important that the Drug Companies justify the success of their various Covid drugs. Many people think they are a miracle that saved Millions of lives. Others disagree! With CDC being ripped apart over this question, I want the answer, and I want it NOW. I have been shown information from Pfizer, and others, that is extraordinary, but they never seem to show those results to the public. Why not??? They go off to the next “hunt” and let everyone rip themselves apart, including Bobby Kennedy Jr. and CDC, trying to figure out the success or failure of the Drug Companies Covid work. They show me GREAT numbers and results, but they don’t seem to be showing them to many others. I want them to show them NOW, to CDC and the public, and clear up this MESS, one way or the other!!! I hope OPERATION WARP SPEED was as “BRILLIANT” as many say it was. If not, we all want to know about it, and why??? Thank you for your attention to this very important matter! President DJT

Is this Trump admitting that Operation Warp Speed wasn’t a stunning success? Is he seeing data that is causing him to question elements of the agreement and the product that the operation produced? Or is Trump simply seeking to end a feud within the CDC that he sees as destructive to the agency’s purpose?

As non-scientists, it is truly difficult to judge the data presented on both sides of the argument. However, Trump’s admonition for the drug companies to share their data is a welcome call.