August 6, 2020

President Trump says it is “possible” the U.S. could have a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine before the November election, raising questions about political pressure on the regulatory process as the country approaches 4.9 million cases and 160,000 deaths. Moderna backtracks on its earlier exclusion of HIV-positive participants from its vaccine trial, reopening enrollment after criticism. An IHME model projects 300,000 U.S. deaths by December, though NPR acknowledges the uncertainty baked into such forecasts. A USA Today opinion piece argues for compulsory universal vaccination, labeling it “patriotic,” an escalation in the vaccine-access debate.

Birx warns of troubling coronavirus trends in nine U.S. cities as Fauci tells Harvard that further complete shutdowns should be avoidable if the public trusts science, a framing that puts the onus on the population rather than the quality of official guidance. Fauci also reveals the coronavirus task force will examine aerosolized spread, a mode of transmission the WHO and CDC were slow to acknowledge. The New York Times reports that old allies are turning against Birx even as she presses on, highlighting the isolation of figures caught between the administration and the scientific establishment. The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota — expecting 250,000 attendees — proceeds without requiring masks, providing what will be a de facto natural experiment in the effectiveness, or not, of mass gathering restrictions.