Pence and Kamala Harris Clash in Vice-Presidential Debate

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Senator Kamala Harris, Joe Biden's running mate, attacked each other over handling the COVID-19 pandemic by the Donald Trump administration in the first round of their only debate before the November 3 elections.

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Harris called the White House's handling of the crisis "the greatest failure of any presidential administration in U.S. history."

The vice-presidential candidate for the Democratic Party accused the Trump administration of covering up the virus's severity.

For his part, Pence recalled that the president suspended travel from China, while Biden opposed that decision.

The vice president also said that the administration would have tens of millions of doses of the COVID-19 vaccine ready by the end of the year.

Tonight's debate takes center stage because the final two presidential debates could be canceled due to Trump's positive COVID-19 diagnosis.

Kamala Harris, accused President Donald Trump of having lost the trade war with China, to which U.S. Vice President, Mike Pence, responded by predicting that White House candidate Joe Biden will surrender to that country if he wins the election.

"They have lost the trade war with China," Harris said in the face-to-face with Pence, held at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.

"Joe Biden believes that the health and strength of the US economy are measured in terms of the health and the strength of the American worker," Harris said, noting that Trump does it "based on how the economy is doing for rich people".

The exchange is moderated by USA Today's Washington bureau chief Susan Page and takes place at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.