The United States could have a working coronavirus vaccine by October, President Donald Trump said at a Friday press conference.
Trump and his administration have long said that the U.S. is likely to develop a vaccine and begin mass producing it by the end of the year. “Operation Warp Speed” aims at achieving this by partnering the public and private sectors. Trump announced at the end of July that two U.S. vaccines were entering phase 3 trials, which involves testing on typically tens of thousands of individuals.
“We remain on track to deliver a vaccine before the end of the year, and maybe even before November 1st,” Trump said. “We think we could probably have it sometime during the month of October.”
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 31: Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testifies before a House Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis hearing on July 31, 2020 in Washington, DC. Trump administration officials are set to defend the federal government’s response to the coronavirus crisis at the hearing hosted by a House panel calling for a national plan to contain the virus. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch-Pool/Getty Images)
Trump argued that the U.S. is “rounding the corner” on coronavirus, with the nation down to a weekly average of 40,500 cases per day, compared to 60,000 at the beginning of August, according to the Washington Times.
The U.S. has suffered 187,000 coronavirus deaths as of Friday, with an average of just over 1,000 additional Americans dying each day. (RELATED: FDA’s ‘Warp Speed’ Guidance Says Coronavirus Vaccine Must Prove 50% More Effective Than Placebo Before Hitting Market)
Trump also made a point of saying the country’s numbers would look better if New York’s 33,000 deaths weren’t counted.
