Donald Trump touts vaccine breakthrough as New York battles coronavirus surge

President Donald
Trump on Friday said a vaccine would be available within “a matter of weeks” with
the United States struggling to cope with a fresh virus surge and New York,
once the global pandemic hotspot, announcing new restrictions on bars and
restaurants.

Making his
first public appearance since the electoral loss to Democrat Joe Biden, Trump highlighted
the medical breakthroughs achieved under his watch and reaffirmed his stance
against imposing lockdowns, AFP reported.

Also Read | Donald Trump emerges from election gloom to hold rare work meeting

He also said
that his administration will seek emergency use authorisation for the vaccine
developed by American and German firms Pfizer and BioNTech, which the companies
said has a 90% efficacy in the trails so far, adding it will be coming “extremely
soon”.

“The
vaccine will be distributed to frontline workers, the elderly, and high-risk
Americans immediately, it will be a matter of weeks,” Trump said, adding it will
be available to the “entire general population” by April.

America and
Europe are dealing with a new surge in virus cases as governments are forced to
take drastic actions despite fears of the economic repercussions. Almost 53
million people have been infected with the virus since its first outbreak in
December, killing over 1.3 million people globally.

On Friday, New
York Goevneror Andrew Cuomo ordered all establishments licensed to sell alcohol
to close by 10 pm. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio also issued warning he
may move schools to online teachings only, like other major US cities, from
Monday as daily infection rate approached 3%.

America,
the country hardest hit by COVID-19, registered a new daily high of more than
150,000 cases on Thursday, according to the Covid Tracking Project, with an
average of more than a thousand people dying every day in the past week.

But Trump,
who has long opposed measures that stall the economy, said his position
remained unchanged. “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,” he told reporters.

However, residents
and business owners in New York, where almost 34,000 people have been killed by
the virus statewide, fear another shutdown is coming.

“It
would be devastating from an economic perspective but the goal is to save lives
and if we have to do it then we have to do it,” said 32-year-old Ioana
Simion, assistant manager of an Italian restaurant in Manhattan.