Daily US Times: Joe Biden and Donald Trump offered sharply contrasting reactions on Monday to news of a coronavirus vaccine from Moderna that proved nearly 95% effective in trials. President Trump appeared to claim credit.
The president-elect in a press conference called the vaccine news “really encouraging” but warned “more people may die” unless the current administration starts cooperating with the incoming Democratic administration.
“We are going into a very dark winter. Things are going to get much tougher before they get easier,” Joe Biden said.
Rather than working to combat the Covid-19, which is spreading faster than ever and on average killing more than 1,000 Americans a day, President Trump has stayed focused on unsubstantiated and unproven claims that the presidential election was stolen.
On Monday, Pharmaceutical giant Moderna said its experimental vaccine was 94.5% effective, based on interim data from a late-stage clinical trial.
Trump tweeted, “Another vaccine just announced,” seeking to claim credit.
“This time by Moderna, 95% effective. For those great ‘historians’, please remember that these great discoveries, which will end the China Plague, all took place on my watch!” Mr Trump’s tweed added.
Critics say President Donald Trump has all but surrendered to the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 244,000 Americans in the US and is averaging more than 100,000 cases per day. On Sunday, an adviser to Biden, Michael Osterholm told NBC on Sunday: “We are in a very dangerous period – the most dangerous public health period since 1918.”
Public health expert Dr Anthony Fauci said on Sunday that Trump has not attended a taskforce meeting in “at least five months”, and seems to have bet everything on a vaccine.
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