Show an ad over header. AMP

Biden campaign lays out standards for coronavirus vaccine transparency

08 September 2020
Dan Ackermann

The Biden campaign called on President Trump on Tuesday to answer three specific questions before releasing a coronavirus vaccine, while simultaneously warning that Trump may seek to short-circuit the scientific process for the sake of his re-election. 

Why it matters: After Trump accused Joe Biden and Kamala Harris of being anti-vaxxers yesterday, the Biden campaign is trying to establish firm standards on what would allay its fears that Trump isn't accelerating a vaccine for political reasons. 

  • "The concern is not about the vaccine. The concern is about the president interfering in the process, into the scientific process,” Dr. David Kessler, a former FDA commissioner and a Biden adviser, said on a conference call with reporters.
  • "Any vaccine must be a product of science and research," said Symone Sanders, a top Biden adviser.

The three vaccine standards advocated by the Biden campaign:

  • What criteria will be used to ensure that any vaccine meets the scientific standard of safety and efficacy.
  • Who will validate that those standards were met.
  • What is the plan to distribute the vaccine cost-free and safely.

The big picture: Trump has hinted that a vaccine could arrive before the election, raising concerns among Democrats that the vaccine either won’t be effective or won’t be trusted by large sections of the American public.

  • During an AFL-CIO virtual town hall yesterday, Biden told union members not to trust Trump on the vaccine.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

Section2

Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.