Golden State Today

John Cox said he trusts the U.S. Food and Drug Administration more than Gov. Gavin Newsom to determine if a vaccine for COVID-19 is safe for distribution.

Cox, the Republican candidate for governor in 2018, said he is disappointed by Newsom’s remarks that he will not allow a COVID-19 vaccine to be distributed in the state until tested by California researchers.

“I wonder if he’s also suspicious about other drugs that are approved by the FDA,” Cox told Golden State Today.

He said there are thousands of trained, qualified and dedicated FDA staffers.

“I find it hard to believe they would approve a drug that is going to hurt people,” Cox said. “To me, this is politics. This is Gov. Newsom trying to assert his own dominance. He is injecting fear and doubt into the minds of Californians.”

He said he doubts the state can be more efficient than the federal agency. 

“He’s going to do a better job of reviewing drugs than the FDA? It just puts more doubt in the minds of people,” Cox said.

He said politics now dominates every discussion, and that the media, eager for controversy to raise ratings and readers’ attention, fans the flame.

“It’s people like Gavin Newsom who accelerate this,” Cox said. “Can we just be adults and rise above this thing?”

On Oct. 19, Newsom called a press conference to announce a group of “nationally acclaimed California physician-scientists with expertise in immunization and public health” will join California’s COVID-19 Scientific Safety Review Workgroup.

They will review the safety and efficacy of any vaccine that receives FDA approval for distribution, the governor said. Only after they give their approval will the state make the vaccine available to people considered the most at risk for COVID-19. 

California submitted its distribution plan to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Oct. 16.

“Our response to COVID-19 has and will continue to lead with data and science including when it comes to COVID-19 vaccines,” Newsom said. “California leads in science and by bringing together our state’s brightest scientific minds, we can ensure that any vaccine distributed here meets safety requirements. Recognizing that supplies will be limited initially and the first doses of vaccines must go to health care workers, first responders and others who are especially vulnerable to this disease, we are working to ensure that administration and distribution of an approved vaccine is equitable.”

Cox, 65, has personal experience with COVID-19 after being diagnosed with it in March.

“I tested positive and we have been following doctors orders at home and the quarantine protocols regarding this disease,” he said. “We are so appreciative of the doctors and other health care professionals that have helped with my recovery.

“I decided to go public with this diagnosis to muster support for defeating this without destroying our way of life,” Cox said. “I’d also hope that this experience should instruct us on doing better in the future to tackle problems like housing and homelessness that this pandemic has highlighted.”

Cox, 65, is now a Republican, but when he started out in politics, he was on the other side of the fence. When he decided to seek political office, he did so as a Republican, running for Congress in 2000, for the U.S. Senate in 2002 and Cook County, Illinois recorder of deeds in 2004. 

Raised in Illinois, Cox dipped his toe in the Republican presidential race in 2008 but withdrew before any votes were cast. By then, he was transitioning to California, a move he made permanent in 2011.

In 2018, he was the GOP nominee for governor. He finished second in the June 5 open primary that included 27 candidates. That qualified him for the general election, where he finished with 4.74 million votes, losing to Lt. Gov. Newsom. He has indicated interest in a rematch in 2022 and now serves as chairman of the advisory board for Citizens for Honest And Non-partisan Government Effectiveness (CHANGE.) 

Cox is a lawyer and businessman based in Rancho Santa Fe. He and his wife have four daughters. All are willing to trust a vaccine, he said.

“I look forward to taking this drug,” Cox said. “My family is looking forward to it.”