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WASHINGTON – In his first remarks on the coronavirus since losing the presidential election last week, President Trump said millions of Americans would be vaccinated in the coming weeks, good news for a nation shaken by record infection rates and prospects for further lockdowns.
“The delivery will be very fast,” Trump promised. “We are ready to go. The vaccine will be immediately distributed to frontline workers, the elderly and high-risk Americans – a matter of weeks, ”Trump said, in what was billed as an update on Operation Warp Speed, the public partnership- $ 18 billion private to develop and distribute a coronavirus vaccine to the American public.
“Millions of doses are coming out soon. They’re all set, ”Trump said of the vaccine doses awaiting deployment. “Awaiting this final approval.”
Moncef Slaoui, one of the two leaders of Operation Warp Speed, developed this promise. “We plan to have enough vaccine doses available for use in the US population to immunize approximately 20 million individuals by December, and 25 to 30 million more per month on an ongoing basis from then on.” , said Slaoui. That number could increase in February or March, he added, as more vaccines become available.
In all, six US companies are in the midst of vaccine development. Four candidate vaccines, including those under development by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and Moderna, are in the final stages of clinical testing.
“The American people can be comforted – with all of the news this week – that help is on the way,” Vice President Mike Pence said during his brief stint at the Rose Garden podium. Pence, the nominal head of the White House coronavirus task force, has not held a public briefing on the subject for months.
The press conference was a break from days of public silence and spoke of internal unrest in the White House. Since the election, Trump has been fixated on his political future, tweeting baseless conspiracy theories of voter fraud, even as he and his top advisers ponder a post-presidential future.
The virus had become something of an afterthought for the president just as the pandemic appeared to be entering a perilous new phase.
In his own brief statement, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said there was “light at the end of the tunnel,” a phrase with unfortunate echoes of predictions of US victory in the War of the United States. Vietnam.
While Trump has often exaggerated or distorted aspects of his administration’s pandemic response, there is some optimism warranted. Pfizer announced earlier this week that its vaccine was 90% effective. Moderna is also expected to publish the results of its own vaccine trials in the coming weeks.
“As of April, the vaccine will be available to the entire population,” Trump also said. Wide public distribution of the vaccine will almost certainly present a vast logistical challenge, which could be complicated by Trump’s refusal to begin the transition of power to President-elect, former Vice President Joe Biden.
Speaking earlier this week, leading immunologist Dr Anthony Fauci who enjoys widespread confidence in the American public, stepped aside from his recent string of sinister statements to offer a similar note of hope. “The vaccine is on its way, folks, so hang in there, hang in there,” Fauci Told an audience gathered in his hometown of Brooklyn. “We will overcome this together.”
Trump resorted to a more confrontational tone, picking up on a long-standing feud with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, who had expressed concerns that the approval process was rushed and politically motivated . Cuomo has assembled a team of scientists who he says will review the vaccine.
In his speech at the Rose Garden on Friday night, Trump chose New York State as the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic throughout the spring. “We will not deliver it to New York until we get the clearance,” the president said bitterly. “We cannot hand it over to a state that will not immediately give it to its people.”
Trump noted that Cuomo had been the subject of “very bad editorials.”
Despite the toll the coronavirus is now making across the country, from densely populated cities to rural areas, Trump has said he opposes new measures to lock down businesses, schools and public places.
“Ideally, we won’t go to a lockdown,” Trump said. “This administration will not go to a lockdown.” He then began to say that a new administration might have different plans before appearing to realize that even the slightest recognition of a Biden presidency would undermine his conspiratorial message of voter fraud.
“I hope the – uh – whatever happens in the future who knows what administration it will be, I guess time will tell,” he added, apparently speaking to both political and pandemic. He left the press conference without answering questions.
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