Donald Trump has claimed a vaccine to prevent coronavirus is ready – and that it could be distributed within weeks. Speaking at the presidential debate against Joe Biden Thursday night, the president said: ‘We have a vaccine that’s coming.
‘It’s ready, it’s going to be announced within weeks…the military is going to deliver the vaccine.’ Asked for further information by moderator Kristen Welker, Trump told the crowd in Nashville, Tennessee, and for a ‘guarantee’ that a shot would be ready within weeks, Trump answered: ‘It’s not a guarantee, it will be (ready) by the end of the year, there’s a good chance.’
The president initially claimed that two US pharmaceutical companies had vaccines ready, then when asked to clarify named three – Johnson & Johnson, Moderna and Pfizer. All three companies are in late stage trials of their potential shots, but none have made announcements to say their vaccines definitively work.
Trump was attacked by Democrat rival Joe Biden for his handling of coronavirus. Biden attacked Trump’s ‘ineptitude’ and said: ‘Anyone who’s responsible for not taking control, for not taking control initially.
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‘Anyone who’s responsible for that many deaths should not remain President of the United States. We’re in a situation where there’s over 1,000 new deaths and 70,000 new cases a day…the president has no plan.’
The two men met for the second time after Trump recovered from his own coronavirus infection earlier this month.
He hailed an antibody treatment from company Regeneron for helping him recover within days, and likened the treatment – which is not yet widely available – to a cure.
Biden and Trump’s first debate last month descended into a 90 minute argument with constant interruptions, with Thursday’s featuring a mute button on each man’s microphone to stop them interrupting each other.
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