WILMINGTON, Del. (NewsNation Now) — Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden laid out his plans if elected to develop and distribute a safe coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday, seeking to draw a contrast with President Donald Trump’s approach to combating the pandemic.
Biden delivered remarks in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, after being briefed by public health experts on the efforts to develop a vaccine for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
The speech is part of a delicate balancing act the former vice president has struck in recent weeks, as Trump has suggested a vaccine could be approved ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
At a town hall with voters in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Trump asserted a vaccine could be available within a month.
“We’re within weeks of getting it. You know, could be three weeks, four weeks,” he said.
Biden has questioned whether Trump is pressuring agencies like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to sign off on a vaccine to boost his re-election prospects. At the same time, Biden has been careful to say he wants to see a safe vaccine as soon as possible.
Last week, during a campaign visit to Michigan, Biden told reporters he simply wanted “transparency” in the process and that he would love to have an inoculation “tomorrow.”
Trump has accused Biden of promoting vaccine fears for political purposes. Last week, he called on Biden to “apologize for the reckless anti-vaccine rhetoric.”
The coronavirus has caused more than 195,000 U.S. deaths, the most of any country, and millions of job losses.
Inoculation experts have expressed concern that not enough Americans will volunteer to take an approved coronavirus vaccine, in part because of the speed with which it is being created. Most vaccinations are developed over a decade or more.