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Biden, Seizing on Worries of a Rushed Vaccine, Warns Trump Can’t Be Trusted | The New York Times
Thrusting the issue of a coronavirus vaccine to the center of the campaign, Joe Biden said he trusted vaccines, but not a politicized development process.
His comments came as the president publicly rebuked the top federal scientist.
uch like the novel coronavirus itself, effective and safe vaccine's pay no attention to election cycles. Mr. Trump seems to disbelieve that wisdom.
Mr. Trump also seems to assume that he can browbeat scientists to release a COVID vaccine before a vaccine has completed all clinical trials and passed a comprehensive analysis.
Trumps motto here seems to be: "My reelection is far more important than your safety." When science says a vaccine is good to go, then get your COVID vaccination. But not before.
Thrusting the issue of a coronavirus vaccine to the center of the campaign, Joe Biden said he trusted vaccines, but not a politicized development process.
His comments came as the president publicly rebuked the top federal scientist.
9/16/20
With deaths from the coronavirus nearing 200,000 in the United States, Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Wednesday assailed President Trump for playing politics with a potential coronavirus vaccine, saying he did not trust Mr. Trump to determine when a vaccine was ready for Americans. “Let me be clear: I trust vaccines,” Mr. Biden said. “I trust scientists. But I don’t trust Donald Trump, and at this moment, the American people can’t either.” Shortly after Mr. Biden’s speech in Wilmington, Del., Mr. Trump seemed to lend credence to the former vice president’s criticism by publicly rebuking the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for saying that widespread vaccination might not be possible until the middle of next year. In his speech, Mr. Biden thrust the issue of a coronavirus vaccine to center stage in the presidential race, expressing grave concern over the political pressure he said Mr. Trump was exerting over the government’s approval process and accusing him of trying to rush out a vaccine for electoral gain. “Scientific breakthroughs don’t care about calendars any more than the virus does,” he said. “They certainly don’t adhere to election cycles. And their timing and their approval and their distribution should never, ever be distorted by political considerations. It should be determined by science and safety alone.”
As Mr. Trump, eager for a political victory, continues to suggest that a vaccine could be ready before Election Day, that prospect could become a significant campaign issue in the final stretch — if it hasn’t already. The president’s comments that one could be rolled out before Nov. 3 have unsettled health officials, who worry that Mr. Trump is creating the impression that a vaccine might not be properly vetted at a time when the public is already concerned about political interference in the approval process. And Senator Kamala Harris of California, Mr. Biden’s running mate, said this month that if Mr. Trump assured the nation that a vaccine was safe, she would “not take his word for it.” Mr. Biden said Wednesday that he would personally take a vaccine if scientists said it was safe, even if it were approved under Mr. Trump’s watch. “Absolutely, do it, yes,” he said, answering a question from a reporter. Mr. Trump’s timeline has confounded many health experts, however, including Dr. Robert R. Redfield, the director of the C.D.C., who estimated during a Senate hearing on Wednesday that a vaccine could be available for limited use by the end of the year, and for wider distribution by the middle of next year.“It won’t go away like a miracle,” Mr. Biden said, adding that even if a vaccine became available, it would not be available for most Americans until “well into” 2021.
uch like the novel coronavirus itself, effective and safe vaccine's pay no attention to election cycles. Mr. Trump seems to disbelieve that wisdom.
Mr. Trump also seems to assume that he can browbeat scientists to release a COVID vaccine before a vaccine has completed all clinical trials and passed a comprehensive analysis.
Trumps motto here seems to be: "My reelection is far more important than your safety." When science says a vaccine is good to go, then get your COVID vaccination. But not before.