US President Donald Trump has made another unfounded claim that officials at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are deliberately slowing down progress on Covid-19 vaccines.
In a tweet, Mr Trump said "the deep state, or whoever, over at the FDA is making it very difficult for drug companies to get people in order to test the vaccines and therapeutics."
Mr Trump went on to accuse the FDA of trying to hamper his prospects in the upcoming US presidential election on November 3.
"Obviously, they are hoping to delay the answer until after November 3rd," he tweeted.
"Must focus on speed, and saving lives!"
The president did not provide any evidence to support his accusations.
The FDA is not in charge of enrolling people for drug trials - that is done by the drug companies themselves.
It is the second time in a week that Mr Trump has lashed out at the FDA for allegedly hindering vaccine progress.
On Wednesday (Thursday NZT) he took aim at government scientists looking into the effect of convalescent plasma - a safe, but unproven potential therapy for Covid-19.
Mr Trump has also repeatedly advocated for the use of anti-malaria drug hydroxochloroquine, which has been shown in numerous clinical trials to have no effect on Covid-19.
Mr Trump's comments come after being lambasted this week by participants in the Democratic National Convention, who said the US death toll - now more than 175,000 - would not have been so high if Mr Trump had put science ahead of his ego.
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