Readers write
Faster drug approvals need safety measures
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s article on the FDA’s new expedited review program highlights the agency’s goal to bring lifesaving drugs to patients faster. While that urgency is understandable, it raises important questions about how safety and accountability will be maintained when reviews are shortened to just one or two months.
The FDA has faced criticism in the past for approving medications through accelerated pathways that were later withdrawn when follow-up studies failed to confirm benefits. Faster programs often rely on early or limited trial data, which can overlook long-term risks or exaggerate short-term results. If this new initiative is to build public trust, post-market monitoring should be treated as a vital safeguard rather than a procedural step.
The agency should also increase transparency by explaining how it selects “national priority” drugs and how it evaluates early trial data. These steps would protect patients while allowing innovation to move forward responsibly. Expedited review can serve both innovation and safety if the FDA continues to make public health its highest standard.
NIHA SAVILI, ATLANTA
Israel has long history of being attacked
I read and reread Nidal M. Ibrahim’s Oct. 7 Opinion piece (“Oct. 7 is a tragedy for Israel. It’s been one every day since for Palestinians.”) Nowhere is to be found the words Hamas, Islamic Jihad or any other terror group.
Since the 1947 Partition Plan, the inhabitants of Judea and Samaria have been used as cannon fodder by numerous Islamic jihadi groups. Israel was attacked in all directions by countries wishing to annihilate it “from the river to the sea.”
Mr. Ibrahim claims it was Israel that violated the Camp David Accords and the Oslo Accords. Before the ink was dry on these treaties, there were bus and restaurant bombings and murderous attacks against Jewish and non-Jewish residents of Israel.
Mr. Ibrahim accepts as fact the number of casualties at 66,000. Yet the figures include both Hamas terrorists and civilians, so, as the United Nations pointed out, its accuracy is suspect.
Finally, after the brutal pogrom of Oct. 7, Israel was attacked on all sides by missiles from Hamas allies. Israel was, not for the first time, in an existential threat.
What was part of Hamas’ strategy? To place rocket launchers and weapons in schools, mosques and hospitals.
Israelis were not happy about the loss of human life, including almost one thousand of its own soldiers. But when fighting for your very existence, choices have to be made.
ISRAEL ROBINSON, ATLANTA
