Biden pledges free Covid vaccine for 'everyone' in US if elected

Democrat Joe Biden said Friday that if elected president he would mandate coronavirus vaccines be free for all Americans, part of a national strategy to "get ahead of this virus."

"Once we have a safe and effective vaccine, it has to be free to everyone -- whether or not you're insured," Biden said in a speech laying out his pandemic response plan just 11 days before the US presidential election. 

President Donald Trump, who trails Biden in the polls, has also stressed that a vaccine -- which he says will be ready in the coming weeks -- should be free.