Trump Touts Fast Progress On Coronavirus Vaccine

WASHINGTON, DC — President Donald Trump on Friday touted the fast progress being made in producing a vaccine capable of countering the coronavirus pandemic, which as the week comes to a close has killed more than 240,000 people in the United States.

Trump spoke in the Rose Garden at the White House on Friday. He did not concede the election to President-elect Joe Biden but said his administration will never go to a lockdown that a Biden administration might recommend.

"This administration will not be going to a lockdown,” he said. “Hopefully whatever happens in the future, who knows, which administration it will be, I guess time will tell, but I can tell you this administration will not go to a lockdown.”

Biden has not said whether he would order a lockdown.

Instead, Trump used his first appearance in days to call the vaccine the “single greatest mobilization in U.S. history,” lauding the United States for pioneering and developing vaccines and therapies in record time — five times faster than the 8 to 12 years it normally takes.

No vaccine has been formally approved, but Trump said one could be available to the general public as soon as April.

Friday marked the first time President Trump spoke publicly since the 2020 election was called for Biden on Saturday. Trump made an appearance at Arlington National Cemetery on Wednesday for a Veterans Day ceremony, but has kept his daily agenda mostly blank since the Nov. 3 election.

In fact, Trump has been largely disengaged from the battle against COVID-19 at a moment when the disease is tearing across the United States at an alarming pace.

Public health experts worry that Trump’s refusal to take aggressive action on the pandemic or to coordinate with President-elect Joe Biden team's during the final two months of his presidency will only worsen the effects of the virus and hinder the nation’s ability to swiftly distribute a vaccine next year.

The president’s relative silence comes as numerous White House and campaign officials have tested positive for the virus in recent days.

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows tested positive last week after attending an election night party at the White House. Others at the party also have tested positive, including White House political director Brian Jack, former White House aide Healy Baumgardner and Trump campaign advisers David Bossie and Corey Lewandowski.

Lewandowski told The Associated Press he believes he contracted the virus in Philadelphia while assisting the president’s election challenge there.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.