US vice-president Mike Pence and Democratic challenger Kamala Harris clashed early and often over the Trump administration's handling of the coronavirus pandemic during their debate on Wednesday, as the White House struggled to contain an outbreak that has infected President Donald Trump and dozens of others.

The policy-heavy debate stood in stark contrast to last week's chaotic presidential debate, with Harris going on the attack on topics from healthcare to the economy, climate change and foreign policy, and Pence defending the Republican administration's nearly four-year-old record...