Donald Trump Will Reopen The 'Presence Or No Vaccine' Activity For COVID-19
JAKARTA - President of the United States (US) Donald Trump said he would reopen all activities in Uncle Sam's country. Trump also emphasized that the US will return to its original activities in the presence or absence of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Trump explained that even without a vaccine, Americans would have to start returning to their normal lives. He conveyed this after giving information related to a vaccine project called 'Operation Warp Speed', likening it to World War II efforts to produce the world's first nuclear weapon. However, many experts doubt that a COVID-19 vaccine can be developed within one year.
"I don't want people to think it all depends on vaccines. Vaccines or without vaccines, we are back. And we are starting the process," Trump said, quoted by the BBC, Sunday, May 17.
"In a lot of cases, a lot of people don't have a vaccine and a virus or flu comes in and you fight your way through it. A lot of things get vaccinated and the virus goes away. I think schools should also reopen in the fall," Trump added.
What is Operation Warp Speed?Speaking at a White House press conference on Friday May 15, Trump said the vaccine project would start with 14 vaccine candidates in a study that promises to accelerate research and approval.
"It shows that the project is large and means fast. A massive scientific, industrial and logistical endeavor unlike anything our country has seen since the Manhattan Project," Trump explained.
Trump appointed an Army general and former health executive to lead the operation. Partnerships between the government and the private sector to find and distribute vaccines were also established.
Moncef Slaoui, who previously headed the vaccine division at pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, said he was confident that several hundred million doses of the vaccine would be given by the end of 2020. Slaoui will lead the mission to manufacture the vaccine.
He admitted in an earlier interview with the New York Times that the plan was too ambitious. But he also added that he would not do anything unless the target was deemed achievable.
Many experts say a vaccine is the only thing that will give Americans the complete confidence to reopen the economy without widespread testing.
In recent weeks, the White House announced further efforts and has increased testing to nearly 10 million people by May 15, according to data from Our World in Data. In addition to new White House initiatives, the Department of Food and Drug is also evaluating candidates for vaccine trials in humans.