Trump makes fresh vaccine promises, says he knows better than experts
President Trump is once again claiming there will be a coronavirus vaccine by the end of the year, despite having no way of knowing if that's possible.
Apparently 100 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine will be ready before the end of the year, and "we expect to have enough vaccines for every American by April," Trump said in a Friday press conference. Despite Trump's apparent confidence, no vaccine has been proven safe and effective for humans yet, and there's no telling when one will be. Moderna, a company developing a vaccine in the U.S., has found it hard to prove the vaccine candidate's effectiveness as COVID-19 cases decline, but suggested vaccines could be widely available early next year.
Trump's confidence in the matter may stem from his belief that he is the expert in the COVID-19 pandemic, not scientists and doctors. "How is it that you don't trust your own experts? Do you think you know better than they do?" Trump was asked at the Friday conference. "Yeah, in many cases I do," Trump, who has no medical or scientific background, responded.
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.
Trump also accused Democratic nominee Joe Biden of spreading "anti-vaccine theories," as Biden has suggested Trump is trying to push vaccine development to score political points before the election, perhaps with unsafe consequences. In the past, Trump has spread false claims about the side effects of vaccines.
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
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Today's political cartoons - December 24, 2024
Cartoons Tuesday's cartoons - tidings of joy, tides of chaos, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Panama Canal politics – and what Trump's threats mean
The Explainer The contentious history, and troublesome present, of Central America's vital shipping lane
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Kremlin seeks to quell Assad divorce reports
Speed Read Media reports suggest that British citizen Asma al-Assad wants to leave the deposed Syrian dictator and return to London as a British citizen
By Hollie Clemence, The Week UK Published
-
Top Russian general killed in Moscow blast
Speed Read A remote-triggered bomb killed Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia's Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defense
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Why Assad fell so fast
The Explainer The newly liberated Syria is in an incredibly precarious position, but it's too soon to succumb to defeatist gloom
By The Week UK Published
-
NATO chief urges Europe to arm against Russia
Speed Read Mark Rutte said Putin wants to 'wipe Ukraine off the map' and might come for other parts of Europe next
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New Syria government takes charge, urging 'stability'
Speed Read The rebel forces that ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad announced an interim government
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Romania's election rerun
The Explainer Shock result of presidential election has been annulled following allegations of Russian interference
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Russia's shadow war in Europe
Talking Point Steering clear of open conflict, Moscow is slowly ratcheting up the pressure on Nato rivals to see what it can get away with.
By The Week UK Published
-
South Korea roiled by short-lived martial law
Speed Read President Yoon Suk Yeol's imposition of martial law was a 'clear violation of the constitution,' said the opposition parties who have moved to impeach him
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Syrian rebels seize Aleppo in surprise offensive
Speed Read The rebels made gains against President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and reignited Syria's 13-year-old civil war
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published