Health and Human Services Director Alex Azar said Tuesday he's taking Pfizer's statements at "face value" that it released its data on its new vaccine almost a week after the presidential election because of the timing of the pharmaceutical giant's own reports, not because of politics, as President Donald Trump claimed on Twitter Monday night.
"All I know about the timing of data is what Pfizer has said publicly," Azar said on CNBC's "Squawk Box." "I have to take it at face value, (that) they learned the data on Sunday and within 24 hours made their public announcement of that data."
Trump, as one of a series of tweets posted Monday, blasted Pfizer for the timing of its announcement, accusing it of not having the "courage" to make the announcement before the election.
Azar said he wouldn't get into when the Trump administration was made aware of Pfizer's results, but stressed Americans should be reassured that an independent data and safety board will evaluate data, and then the company and the Food and Drug Administration would hear about or see the data.
"That's what happened," said Azar. "Pfizer is an independent company that determines that data meets their ethical standards to submit."
Azar also disputed a Pfizer statement, which was later corrected on Monday, that the company was not part of the government's "Operation Warp Speed" initiative.
"A $2 billion contract that says they're very much part of Operation Warp Speed," he said. "We assisted with ingredients, distribution, syringes, needles, dry ice for shipment, distribution planning. They're very much part of Operation Warp Speed."
The government has contracted with Pfizer for 100 million doses of its two-shot vaccine, with 20 million more a month coming starting at the end of this month for 40 million doses by the end of the year, said Azar.
The focus at first is on the most vulnerable, including the elderly, healthcare workers, and first responders.
"Whatever the data provides on Pfizer, if we get Moderna to come in the next couple of weeks, we would have that in our tool kit," said Azar. "Also, we said we would have enough by the end of the year to vaccinate all of the most vulnerable, by the end of January to vaccinate senior citizens and health care workers, enough for every American who would like to be vaccinated."