New York, Sept. 9 -- Nine pharmaceutical companies on Tuesday issued a rare joint pledge seeking to reassure the public about the safety and efficacy of their potential vaccines for coronavirus.

The statement from the top drug companies working on coronavirus vaccines, including Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Moderna, comes amid fears of political pressure fromPresident Trumpon the vaccine approval process and doubts among the public about taking a vaccine.

Thejoint pledgestates that the companies will not seek FDA approval for their vaccines until a rigorous phase 3 clinical trial shows that it is safe and that it works.

The companies pledged they would "only submit for approval or emergency use authorization after demonstrating safety and eff...