Harris predicts scientists, health experts won't have last word on vaccine efficacy


There's a large swath of Americans who have said they wouldn't get a coronavirus vaccine if one was made widely available at a low cost, although the reasons vary.
President Trump's supporters are among those who said they would refuse — just 38 percent of likely Trump voters said they would get a vaccine in an August CNN poll, which some analysts suggested was the result of a growing distrust in science. But Trump's critics have also expressed wariness about a rushed vaccine, alleging the White House wants the Food and Drug Administration to approve one without taking all the proper precautions before the November election.
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), the Democratic vice presidential nominee, didn't exactly dispel those concerns in an interview with CNN's Dana Bash that's set to air Sunday. Bash asked the senator if she would receive a vaccine approved before the election, to which Harris responded by saying she "would not trust Donald Trump and it would have to be a credible source of information that talks about the efficacy and the reliability of whatever he's talking about."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Harris added that she doesn't think scientists and public health experts will have the last word on a vaccine (for what it's worth, Moncef Slaoui, the chief adviser for the Trump administration's vaccine mission, said there has been no interference from the White House and said he would resign if there ever was.) "If past is prologue than they will not, they'll be muzzled, they'll be suppressed, they will be sidelined," she said. "Because he's looking at an election coming up in less than 60 days and he's grasping to get whatever he can to pretend he has been a leader on this issue when he is not." Read more at CNN.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kids
Speed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sick
speed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last year
speed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
-
Trump seeks to cut drug prices via executive order
speed read The president's order tells pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug prices, but it will likely be thrown out by the courts
-
RFK Jr. visits Texas as 2nd child dies from measles
Speed Read An outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease continues to grow following a decade of no recorded US measles deaths
-
Shingles vaccine cuts dementia risk, study finds
Speed Read Getting vaccinated appears to significantly reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia
-
Measles outbreak spreads, as does RFK Jr.'s influence
Speed Read The outbreak centered in Texas has grown to at least three states and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is promoting unproven treatments
-
RFK Jr. offers alternative remedies as measles spreads
Speed Read Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. makes unsupported claims about containing the spread as vaccine skepticism grows