Trump contradicts health chief on masks and vaccine

President Donald Trump expressed renewed confidence Wednesday that a viable Covid-19 vaccine would be ready by October, directly contradicting a top administration health expert and facing fierce criticism from his Democratic election rival Joe Biden.   

Trump sowed confusion about the issue with an extraordinary public rebuke of one of his top health experts who said masks were a leading weapon for fighting the pandemic and that a vaccine was unlikely to be widely available until mid-2021.  “I think he made a mistake when he said that. That’s just incorrect information,” Trump told reporters referring to Senate testimony by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Robert Redfield.
“We’re very close to that vaccine as you know... We think we can start sometime in October” or shortly thereafter, Trump said.   

 “I believe he was confused,” he said of Redfield. “I am just telling you we are ready to go as soon as the vaccine happens.” Redfield told lawmakers Wednesday that a “very limited” distribution to priority groups including first responders could begin in November and December, but that full implementation would take many more months at least.   

 “I think we’re probably looking at late second quarter, third quarter 2021” before a safe and effective vaccine would be available to the general public, he added. 
WASHINGTON AFP Sept17, 2020