White House slams 'heinous' alarms over upcoming COVID-19 vaccine

President Trump and White House coronavirus adviser Scott Atlas on Wednesday slammed what Atlas said were "heinous" fears being spread about the upcoming COVID-19 vaccine, stating that any vaccine distributed by the U.S. government will be safe. 

Kamala Harris and Joe Biden are among the public figures in recent days that have expressed concerns about the efficacy and safety of the COVID-19 vaccine being planned for release later this year. Harris said last week that receiving a vaccine under the Trump administration is "going to be an issue for all of us," and that she "would not trust Donald Trump" if he claimed the vaccine was safe.

At a Wednesday campaign press conference, meanwhile, Biden told reporters: "I trust vaccines, I trust the scientists, but I don't trust Donald Trump."

At a White House press conference on Wednesday, Trump claimed that Democrats "started knocking the vaccine as soon as they heard that this actually may come out prior to the election."

"All of a sudden they didn't like the vaccine so much," he argued. 

Atlas, meanwhile, slammed the widely reported concerns as "heinous." 

"It's a particularly heinous and egregious abuse of the media to instill fear into people about taking the vaccine," he told Just the News. "There's no shortcut here. Everything is safe. Everything is effective."

"And for people who have particularly an influence on minority communities to instill fear and doubt, is particularly an outrageous abuse of public policy and of leadership," he added.

"These are people that have higher risk," he added. "And so I implore everyone who is in a high risk category, that when we get a safe, effective vaccine, they should take the vaccine."