TRUMP'S OCTOBER SURPRISE: A RUSSIAN VACCINE?

A COVID-19 vaccine that hasn't gone through Phase 3 trials? And is being touted by Vladimir Putin? Um, no thanks.

Russia on Tuesday became the first country to clear a coronavirus vaccine and declare it ready for use, despite international skepticism....

Putin emphasized that the vaccine underwent the necessary tests and has proven efficient, offering a lasting immunity from the coronavirus. However, scientists at home and abroad have been sounding the alarm that the rush to start using the vaccine before Phase 3 trials — which normally last for months and involve thousands of people — could backfire.

Putin claims it's safe enough for his daughter.

The Russian leader added that one of his two adult daughters has received two shots of the vaccine. “She has taken part in the experiment,” Putin said.

But her experience was, in Putin's telling, not ideal.

Putin said that his daughter had a temperature of 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 Fahrenheit) on the day of the first vaccine injection, and then it dropped to just over 37 degrees (98.6 Fahrenheit) on the following day. After the second shot she again had a slight increase in temperature, but then it was all over.

“She’s feeling well and has high number of antibodies,” Putin added. He didn’t specify which of his two daughters — Maria or Katerina — received the vaccine.

There's skepticism even on the American right, if the early response at Free Republic is any indication:

I’ll go last.

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When Putin himself takes it, and it’s 100% verifiable that he did, I might be impressed.

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So the folks who brought you Chenoybl have developed a vaccine ahead of schedule and with minimal testing. What could possibly go wrong?

However:

Russian officials have said that large-scale production of the vaccine will start in September, and mass vaccination may begin as early as October.

October?

So will Trump wait until then to argue that the Russian vaccine should be distributed to Americans? Or will he start saying it sooner? He might not be able to compel U.S. health officials to approve the vaccine, but he can make the case that they're among the saboteurs who are preventing him from heroically ending the pandemic.

If Trump does begin touting the vaccine -- along with an amen corner that will include Peter Navarro, Rudy Giuliani, and Jair Bolsonaro -- the folks at Free Republic, and everyone else on the right, will cease their skepticism and agree that it's the greatest thing since Jonas Salk.

I don't know how this will affect the election. It might not sway Americans outside Trump's base, because most of us won't trust a vaccine that hasn't been thoroughly tested. But it could be an issue.