‘Great news’: Donald Trump hails Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine with 90% accuracy

US President Donald Trump hailed the
“great news” Monday that a vaccine jointly developed by Pfizer and
BioNTech was 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 infections.

“STOCK MARKET UP BIG, VACCINE COMING SOON. REPORT 90%
EFFECTIVE. SUCH GREAT NEWS!” the President tweeted minutes after Pfizer
announced the development.

During his final presidential debate Trump had claimed that
the country was weeks away from getting a coronavirus vaccine. When asked by
the moderator if he could guarantee it, Trump replied there was no guarantee
but a vaccine will be available by the end of the year.

“No, it’s not a guarantee, but it will be by the end of the
year. But I think it has a good chance. There are two companies, I think within
a matter of weeks and it will be distributed very quickly,” he had said.

He named Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson to be
doing “well” towards developing the vaccine.

“Johnson & Johnson is doing very well. Moderna is doing
very well. Pfizer is doing very well and we have numerous others. Then we also
have others that we’re working on very closely with other countries, in
particular Europe,” he added.

Trump’s defeat has been blamed, in part, on his
administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, with infections surging
across the US in recent days.

According to media reports, Trump’s relations with Anthony
Fauci, the immunologist helming the clinical fight against the virus in the
country, strained over months broke out in the country.