Tens of thousands of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases have been reported on college campuses across the country.
Some leaders are pushing testing as an answer, since a safe and effective vaccine is still months away. Three potential vaccines are in phase 3 of human trials in the United States.
READ: University of Michigan to carry out phase 3 of COVID-19 vaccine trial
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) suggests one could be approved before the trials are over.
“You don’t want a vaccine to be available widely to the American public unless it’s been shown to be safe and effective,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, with the National Institute of Allergy & Infection Diseases.
FDA commissioner, Dr. Stephen Hahn, said he’d consider resigning rather than green-light a vaccine under political pressure.
“I think all options are on the table. With respect, I hope we won’t be in that position,” Hahn said.
Nationally, new case founds are falling from a great height. Florida is allowing some visitors in nursing homes again. However, there’s a knot in the heartland where average new case counts are rising right now -- near doubled in South Dakota in just a week.
The White House Coronavirus Task Force just warned Iowa that it has the highest rate of cases in the nation. Officials are advising that masks become a mandate across the state, bars must be closed and a comprehensive plan made for college towns.
New York City just pushed back in-person classes by 10 days and announced that it’ll test some K-12 staff and students monthly. Meanwhile, the president’s been denigrating Fauci, one of the nation’s most trusted voices on COVID-19.
Experts are also warning Americans their behavior over Labor Day weekend will be critical to what the fall looks like.