September 6 coronavirus news

Kamala Harris would not say whether she would take a vaccine for Covid-19 that is approved and distributed before the election, saying she does not trust President Trump, and that it would have to come from a credible source of information, according to an interview she did with CNN.

Harris spoke inside Founder’s Library at Howard University, her alma mater, in Washington, DC with CNN's Dana Bash.

Harris did not project confidence that public health experts and scientists would get the last word about a vaccine.

“[I]f past is prologue that they will not, they'll be muzzled, they'll be suppressed, they will be sidelined because he's looking at election coming up in less than 60 days. And he's grasping for whatever he can get to pretend that he has been a leader on this issue when it's not," she said.

As the death toll in the United States from the coronavirus pandemic approaches 200,000, Harris attacked the Trump administration for “minimizing the seriousness” of the coronavirus outbreak and failing to do enough for millions of American struggling to make ends meet.

The unemployment rate in the United States stands at 8.4%, according to new Labor Department data released on Friday. That’s down from a high of 14.7% in April, but still far from the pre-pandemic unemployment rate of 3.5% in February. 

Harris continued to say she would not trust Trump’s word alone on the safety and efficacy of a coronavirus vaccine, but said she "would trust the word of public health experts and scientists," including Dr. Anthony Fauci.

“Joe Biden and I have a plan,” Harris said on vaccine distribution. “Donald Trump does not.”

Some context: Trump said on Friday he believed a coronavirus vaccine could “probably” come sometime in the month of October, though experts agree it is more likely to come in November or December.

A new University of Washington coronavirus model, routinely cited by the White House in the early days of the pandemic, is now projecting more than 400,000 dead by the end of the year.

Asked whether she believes states should mandate a coronavirus vaccine for public school students along with other vaccinations, Harris said she would listen to public health experts.

Harris also declined to back a mask mandate on a federal level, instead vowing a “national standard.”

“This is not about punishment. It's not about big brother," she said. “We have a president of the United States who made this a partisan issue."

Harris added: “The virus could care less who you voted for in the last election or who you plan to vote for in the next election. We need leadership that appreciates that, on certain issues, they should not be partisan. Wearing a mask certainly shouldn't be one of them.”

Vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris will be discussing the coronavirus pandemic during an interview with CNN's Dana Bash on "State of the Union."

Watch the interview at 9 a.m. ET.

Anxieties over the process that could lead to the approval of a coronavirus vaccine are escalating as President Donald Trump, desperate to stamp an end date on the deadly pandemic nightmare, ratchets up pressure on top regulatory officials to deliver him a medical and political panacea ahead of the November election.

Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris registered her concerns during an interview with CNN's Dana Bash on "State of the Union" airing Sunday, saying she would cast a skeptical eye on a vaccine made available in the less than nine weeks to go before Election Day -- a goal scientists have roundly said would be next-to-impossible to meet.

Harris also suggested that public health officials were likely to face pushback, potentially at the expense of their jobs, from the White House if they expressed reservations over a would-be vaccine or the standard for greenlighting it.

The widespread distribution of a dodgy vaccine, with a shove from a President whose reelection campaign has been laid low by the pandemic and its crushing effect on the economy, would heap calamity on top of catastrophe. But it has emerged as a very real concern -- enough so that, according to the Wall Street Journal, at least three of the companies working to develop a coronavirus vaccine are now drafting a pledge to assure the public they would not seek approval for their vaccines before they are proven safe and effective.

Read the full analysis here:

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Analysis: Trump's coronavirus delusions risk corrupting the search for a vaccine

There are at least 6,244,970 cases of coronavirus in the US, and at least 188,538 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University's tally of cases in the United States.

On Saturday, Johns Hopkins University reported 44,452 new cases and 783 new deaths. 

The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases. 

CNN is tracking coronavirus cases in the US here:

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Tracking Covid-19 cases in the US

Labor Day weekend celebrations are in full swing -- and many include the large crowds health experts feared.

Covid-19 doesn't have to stop Labor Day celebrations, health experts said this week. But with more than 6.2 million Americans infected with the virus and 188,538 killed by it, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, the festivities should look a lot different this year. To avoid outbreaks, experts including Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said people should continue to distance, wear masks and avoid groups as they enjoy the weekend.

"We don't want to see a repeat of the surges that we have seen following other holiday weekends," Fauci said, referring to the outbreaks that followed Memorial Day and the Fourth of July.

Still, many gathered in large groups Saturday. Throngs of people are expected at Tybee Island beaches in Georgia over the weekend, CNN affiliate WTOC reported. And images from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, show umbrellas lined up side by side down the beach.

In Pennsylvania, the amusement park Kennywood is expected to have its busiest weekend of the season, CNN affiliate KDKA reported.

And in Atlanta, many weekend Labor Day parties are on the schedule including "The Biggest Labor Day Weekend Party in the City" hosted by rapper Gucci Mane and a "Sunday Funday" rooftop party advertised with an image of people standing close together, some without masks.

Read the full story.

Vladimir Putin announced the approval of Russia's Sputnik-V coronavirus vaccine on August 11 amid much fanfare, saying it works "quite effectively" in forming a stable immunity.

How would he know this? Because the Russian President revealed one of his daughters had already taken it.

Speaking on Russian state TV at the time, Putin said his daughter had a slightly higher temperature after each dose of the two-stage coronavirus vaccine, but that "Now she feels well.

Russian authorities have singled out teachers -- as well as doctors -- as key workers who will get access to the vaccine first, even before crucial phase 3 human trials have finished.

But that's not gone down well with some sections of these frontline workers who don't buy Putin's claims of the efficacy of the vaccine and are reluctant to be used as human guinea pigs.

Schools opening, but not all teachers want the vaccine: On September 1, Russian classrooms reopened for the first time since March amid the Covid-19 pandemic -- the same day the country surpassed 1 million coronavirus cases. Teachers were meant to be among the first to benefit from Russia's new coronavirus vaccine, especially given the close contact with hundreds of children that they are exposed to on a daily basis. But CNN is learning that few -- if any -- have so far taken up the offer to be vaccinated.

Russia's claim of victory at being the first to approve a coronavirus vaccine in a worldwide pandemic was initially met with widespread concern and unanswered questions over its safety and effectiveness, and not just from outside the country.

Read the full story here.

Police have arrested 54 people for flouting coronavirus guidelines in the north Indian state of Punjab.

A pool party was organized at a restaurant in Ludhiana amid the coronavirus pandemic on Saturday, Sameer Verma, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police told CNN.

A raid was conducted at the restaurant after police received an initial tip-off, said Verma.

Police also seized alcohol from the venue, he added.

Punjab has reported a total of 15,731 coronavirus cases including 1739 deaths until Sunday morning.

India is on track to become the country with the second highest number of coronavirus cases. On Saturday, Brazil's Health Ministry reported 4,123,000 total cases, just 9,189 more than India.

According to Health Ministry data, India currently has 862,320 active cases of coronavirus while 3,180,865 patients have recovered after undergoing medical supervision.

India reported 90,632 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday -- the highest single-day rise in infections since the pandemic hit the country.

The country’s total number of recorded cases now stands at 4,113,811, including 70,626 deaths, according to India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

India is on track to become the country with the second highest number of coronavirus cases. On Saturday, Brazil's Health Ministry reported 4,123,000 total cases, just 9,189 more than India.

According to Health Ministry data, India currently has 862,320 active cases of coronavirus while 3,180,865 patients have recovered after undergoing medical supervision.

In India, not all patients require a test to be considered recovered. Patients with mild and moderate symptoms are considered no longer active after 10 days of symptom onset if they meet certain conditions, and a test to confirm that they no longer have the virus is not required. However, severe cases can only be discharged after one negative coronavirus test.

India has tested 48,831,145 samples for coronavirus until Saturday, the ministry says.