Latin America is now the region most affected by COVID-19.

Meanwhile, in a stunning public rebuke, President Donald Trump on Wednesday rejected the professional scientific conclusions of his own government about the prospects for a widely available coronavirus vaccine and the effectiveness of masks in curbing the spread of the virus. This new political storm is brewing as the death toll in the United States climbs to nearly 200-thousand.

To discuss:

• Dr. Gary Morsch is a family and emergency physician and the founder of COVID Care Force
• Dr. Paul Offit is a professor of pediatrics and vaccinology at the University of Pennsylvania
• Joseph Williams is the Senior News Editor at U.S. News & World Report
• Dr. Marcos Espinal is the director of Communicable Diseases at the Pan American Health Organization

For More: 

President Trump contradicted his own CDC director by claiming that widespread distribution of a coronavirus vaccine would happen before the end of the year.

CDC Director Robert Redfield testified that it would likely come spring or summer of 2021.https://t.co/QySEpofVi3

— NPR (@NPR) September 17, 2020

Beset by limited resources, inequality and uneven health care, Latin America is home to five of the 10 countries hit hardest by the coronavirus https://t.co/yZDfse4AwQ

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) September 11, 2020

Coronavirus Could Create A Lockdown Generation In Latin America If Governments Don’t Act (via @ConversationUS) https://t.co/KqVzuqlKS5

— Latino USA (@LatinoUSA) September 14, 2020

Coronavirus live news: WHO warns of 'alarming' Covid transmission across Europe https://t.co/DQbzNxuYmt

— The Guardian (@guardian) September 17, 2020