September 4 coronavirus news

Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of the medical journal The Lancet, told CNN’s Becky Anderson on Friday that President Trump’s statement that a Covid-19 vaccine could be delivered by the end of October is “simply wrong.” 

Horton said the results of a Russian-developed vaccine are “encouraging” but that it would be “highly premature to think that this is the basis for a successful vaccine for public use,” in part since its study involved a very small number of volunteers.

Horton also lamented what he described as the “unfortunate” tone Moscow used when it presented its vaccine results on Friday, saying: “I think if we start setting nation against nation, vaccine against vaccine, company against company, this is completely going to undermine any kind of rationale response. This is a global crisis, Becky. A global crisis needs a global response and a global solution,” he said. “We do want lots of vaccines that are coming through into phase three trials because some are going to succeed and some are going to fail. But this isn't a war between countries. This should be about cooperation.”

Watch: Richard Horton say delivering the public a vaccine by October is 'impossible'

The pharmaceutical company Moderna, which is testing a vaccine for Covid-19, said Friday that it is encouraging its trial sites to work harder to recruit diverse populations, even if those efforts slow the speed of enrollment. 

The deceleration was first reported by CNBC.

Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel told the network it is slightly slowing the enrollment of volunteers to ensure participation from minority communities. Specifically, trial sites that have not enrolled enough Black and African American volunteers are being told they need to increase enrollment among those populations. Bancel said the deceleration could delay the progress of the trial by about a week.  

Some context: The trial has been struggling to enroll enough minorities since at least mid-August. 

Researchers at two of the sites told CNN in August that the company had asked them to limit the number of participants they enroll to no more than 20 per day.

Part of the reason was so that care could be taken to recruit more minorities, they said.

"We need to take the time to evaluate the people who want to be in study to make sure they meet inclusion criteria," said Dr. Richard Novak, who's running the site at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

By the numbers: Current enrollment figures show 68% of volunteers are White, 20% are Hispanic or Latino, 7% are Black or African American, 3% are Asian and 1% are representative of other populations. 

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, told CNN that phase three clinical trials for coronavirus vaccines should aim to include minorities at levels that are at least double their representation in the population to better reflect the population most affected by Covid-19.

Fears that the coronavirus pandemic would wreck efforts to control malaria have not panned out, but disruptions will nonetheless mean more deaths, the World Health Organization said Friday.

WHO predicted in April that malaria in sub-Saharan Africa could double this year alone if access to malaria preventions was severely curtailed. It issued guidance to help countries in maintaining core malaria services during this time. Many countries have gone to great lengths to maintain these essential services, WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

“I’m glad to say that, so far, our worst fears have not been realized,” Tedros told a forum held with the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Partnership to End Malaria.

But the pandemic has disrupted health systems and services, Tedros said. A recent WHO survey of 105 countries showed that 46% of countries reported disruptions in malaria treatment and diagnosis. 

Dr. Abdourahmane Diallo, CEO of the RBM Partnership to End Malaria, said countries have struggled to obtain malaria treatments and diagnostics. “Today more than ever, we must sustain malaria investment, investments that have proved crucial in responding to Covid-19,” Diallo said. “I’m sure we’ll get back on track to achieve the ambitious malaria elimination goals we have set.”

Full-contact high school football is suspended for the fall semester, the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) announced Friday. 

The decision came about after discussions with the state's Department of Public Health, which said it was "unlikely to support higher risk athletic activities (including full contact HS football) during the fall semester," according to a press release from the CIAC.

Some context: The CIAC initially supported a return to team practice on Sept. 21, with games beginning Oct. 1, according to the statement.

The conference said it would work in conjunction with coaches to provide football players with “the best low risk and moderate experiences possible,” though it was not immediately clear what those would be.

There are at least ten other states to have previously announced the cancellation of HS football this year, CNN reported.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden told CNN's MJ Lee that he has been tested once for Covid-19 and will continue to be tested on a regular basis.

When asked by Lee about the President's comments mocking him for wearing a mask, he replied, "It's hard to respond to something so idiotic."

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden was asked to weigh in on President Trump's mockery of Biden's use of face masks while in public.

The President yesterday said the mask "gives him a feeling of security." Trump added that, "If I was a psychiatrist, I'd say this guy has some big issues." Those comments run counter to the advice of public health experts, who have emphasized the importance of face coverings during the pandemic.

Today, Biden said, "It's hard to respond to something so idiotic."

Remember: Masks are primarily recommended and used to prevent people who have the virus from infecting others.

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Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden criticized President Trump's response to coronavirus, saying the President is putting American workers' lives on the line.

Biden said Trump "doesn't see nearly 30 million Americans on unemployment," or all of the small businesses that are closed right now.

Trump doesn't understand the teachers who are "afraid that doing their job — a job they love — could bring the virus home to the people they love."

"He wants us to believe that we're doing better," Biden said.

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Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden slammed President Trump's Covid-19 response, calling it "botched" and criticizing the President for not acting sooner.

"We all know it didn't have to be this bad. It didn't have to be this bad to begin with if the President just did his job. If he just took the virus seriously early on in January and February as it spread around the globe," Biden continued.

The former vice president called on Trump to set an example for the American people by following Covid-19 guidelines as right now, he said, it seems like the President "doesn't care."

"If he just set a good example like social distancing and wearing a mask. That's not too much to ask. It is almost like he doesn't care. It doesn't affect him because it doesn't effect him or his class of friends."

Biden said he released his economic plan in July and that in the next three weeks, he'd be laying out the "sharp contrast" of his plan compared "President's non plans." He noted that he would be asking Americans three questions: Who can handle the pandemic? Who can keep their promises? And, who cares about and will fight for working families?

"Give ordinary Americans just half a chance and they never let the country down. They will do extraordinary things. They will never let us down. Unlike the current President.  And unlike the current President, I won't let you down either," Biden said. "That is what this election is about. Helping people unite get together, move this country back in the direction that we can be."

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Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said that while the US added 1.4 million jobs in August, there is still "cause for concern" in the US jobs market.

"I'm grateful for everyone who found work again, and found a glimmer of hope that brings them back from the edge, but there is real cause for concern as well," Biden said.

The August jobs report marks slowdown from earlier this summer: Employers added a revised 1.7 million jobs in July and 4.8 million jobs in June.

Biden attacked President Trump while discussing the jobs report.

"The report reinforces the worst fears and painful truths. The economic inequities that began before the downturn have only worsened under this failed presidency," he added later on his remarks.

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