The Trump administration will not compromise on the safety and efficacy of a coronavirus vaccine, even though the race to find one continues, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Tuesday.

"The president, the HHS secretary, and officials at the FDA [Food and Drug Administration] will require that any vaccine meets the safety and efficacy standards that the FDA has set," Azar insisted to Fox News' Dana Perino. "They have transparent guidance to say what they will require for approval of a vaccine. We will be transparent with the data. We will have a public advisory committee process for that."

Azar's comments came in response to Democrat vice president nominee Kamala Harris, who said over the weekend she would not trust the word of President Donald Trump alone about the safety of a potential vaccine.

The administration feels it is "extremely credible" there will be "in the high tens of millions of doses of FDA gold standard vaccine" by the end of the year thanks to the work of Operation Warp Speed, the vaccine effort Trump commissioned and led, Azar said. 

"We will get data whenever clinical trial endpoints are met," Azar said. "When they report out, they report out."

The secretary also said he welcomes a joint statement and pledge by pharmaceutical companies in the United States and Europe vowing to uphold scientific standards amid the rush to develop a safe vaccine.

"It reassures the American people that any vaccine that comes out will be safe and effective," Azar said.

He added the pledge is necessary because of "anti-vax messaging," but stressed "nobody is going to approve a vaccine that they do not believe meets the standards . . . we will not compromise on people's safety."

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