The Trump administration health official embroiled in a furor over political meddling with the coronavirus response is taking a leave of absence, the government announced Wednesday. The Trump appointee also was accused of trying to muzzle a scientific weekly put out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Caputo was heard on an HHS podcast asserting that Democrats don't want a coronavirus vaccine before the election in order to punish Trump. "There are people in the United States government on the Democrats' side ... [who] do not want a vaccine," Caputo said. Caputo interviewed Dr. Moncef Slaoui, a top outside adviser to the vaccine effort, on an HHS podcast July 31.

Source: CBC News September 16, 2020 19:18 UTC