WASHINGTON: Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Wednesday rejected President Donald Trump’s charge he is spreading fear about the safety of a potential coronavirus vaccine, urging Trump to defer to scientists and not rush its rollout.
“Let me be clear: I trust vaccines, I trust scientists, but I don’t trust Donald Trump,” Biden said. “At this moment, the American people can’t either.”
Biden warned against trying to rush out an unfinished vaccine ahead of the 3 November election. Trump, who has accused Biden and his campaign of stoking doubt among Americans about the efficacy of a vaccine, told reporters at the White House later that Biden should stop promoting “anti-vaccine theories”.
“They’re recklessly endangering lives. You can’t do that,” said Trump, who predicted at least 100 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine could be distributed by the end of 2020.
Safety standards
Speaking from his home base of Wilmington, Delaware, on Wednesday, Biden argued such a vaccine should only be approved by adhering to rigorous safety standards.
“Scientific breakthroughs don’t care about calendars any more than the virus does. They certainly don’t adhere to election cycles. And their timing, their approval and distribution, should never, ever be distorted by political considerations,” he said.