Published 04:09 IST, September 6th 2020
US Election 2020: Kamala Harris touts Trump's push for COVID-19 vaccine as re-election bid
The United States remains the worst-affected nation by the COVID-19 pandemic as the country has recorded more than 6.2 million confirmed cases to date
The United States Democratic vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris said that she would not trust Donald Trump on any COVID-19 vaccine before the upcoming November poll concludes.
In an interview to CNN, Kamala Harris was asked if she would take a vaccine approved by the Trump administration before the crucial November election, to which she said that she would not trust Trump on any COVID-19 vaccine and alleged that he might interfere with the official approval of a drug in order to secure bonus points for his re-election campaign.
Trump had earlier announced that United States citizens would get a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of this year. There have been reports about the Trump administration exerting pressure on concerned authorities to launch a COVID-19 vaccine before the election.
As per reports, top White House officials are mounting the pressure on authorities so as to bring the pandemic death toll under control. The COVID-19 pandemic has so far killed more than 1,88,000 US citizens, far more than the 9/11, Iraq, and Vietnam war casualties combined, as per reports.
What does FDA says?
Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the US agency responsible for the safe passage of a potential COVID-19 vaccine, said that they would not allow any drug to be authorised for use without it being proven safe and effective. However, the same agency had earlier revoked emergency use authorisation (EUA) order to allow the use of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug that was repeatedly promoted by Trump himself as a possible COVID-19 treatment despite evidence suggesting otherwise.
The United States remains the worst-affected nation by the COVID-19 pandemic as the country has recorded more than 6.2 million confirmed cases to date, which is approximately 23 percent of the global tally. The virus, that has spread outwards from China and is raging havoc across the world, was downplayed by Donald Trump in March as something that will vanish with time.
(Image Credit: AP)
Updated 04:09 IST, September 6th 2020