WASHINGTON, Feb 27 – RIA News. Work on the coronavirus vaccine is going well, it can be created quite quickly, US President Donald Trump told reporters on Thursday.
"Work on the vaccine is going well. I spoke with doctors: we can develop a vaccine relatively quickly for the future," he said.
At the same time, Trump expressed the opinion that the coronavirus may not spread in the United States. "This (distribution – ed.) May be somewhat larger, but may be at a small level. In any case, we are ready for this," he said.
In turn, the head of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci said that the United States will begin testing the vaccine against the new coronavirus in about two months. He added that it would take about another three months after that to determine the degree of safety of the vaccine.
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Epidemic Covid-19
In late December, Chinese authorities reported an outbreak of pneumonia of unknown origin in Wuhan. The causative agent of the disease was a new type of coronavirus. As of February 26, the number of cases worldwide was 81 184, 2769 people died, more than 30 thousand patients recovered.In the United States, 14 cases of coronavirus have been registered so far, another 39 ill Americans have been evacuated from abroad and placed in quarantine.
Trump: the United States is ready to adapt its methods to combat the spread of the new coronavirus
According to the American president, "the level of threat to US residents continues to be very low."
WASHINGTON, February 27. / TASS /. The US authorities, if necessary, are ready to adapt their methods to combat the spread of the new coronavirus. This was announced by American President Donald Trump on Wednesday at a press conference in the White House.
"Thanks to all that we have done, the level of threat to US residents continues to be very low. We are ready to adapt, to do everything we need, as the disease spreads, if it spreads," said the head of the Washington administration.
Disbursement of funds
According to Trump, the United States intends to allocate as much additional funds as necessary to combat the spread of the new coronavirus.
“We are ready to spend as much as necessary. They [legislators] can do whatever they want. We requested [from Congress] $ 2.5 [billion to fight against coronavirus]. Some Republicans want to [provide to fight against coronavirus ] $ 4 [billion], and some Democrats $ 8.5 [billion], "the president said.
He called the "very large" $ 2.5 billion requested by the administration to combat the spread of coronavirus. "Democrats and Senator [Democratic minority leader of the US Senate Chuck] Schumer want to give us more [money to fight the infection]. We will take it. If they [lawmakers] give more, we will take more effort. Let's hope that we don’t have to spend a lot of money due to the fact that we are doing very well in minimizing [the spread of the coronavirus], "Trump said. He pointed to the "huge successes" of the authorities in the fight against infection.
The condition of the infected
Trump said all but one United States citizen infected with the new coronavirus are in good condition.
"The level of [spread of the disease] in our country remains very low, and these people are getting better," he said. "We have only 15 sick people, we took some more from Japan, because they are American citizens. They are in quarantine, and they are also getting better," the president said. “We thought it was our responsibility, there were a total of 42 more people,” Trump added.
“If you look at what is happening with 15 people, they will recover. One is quite ill, but I hope he will recover. The rest are in excellent condition,” the president emphasized.
Work coordination
Trump also said that United States Vice President Michael Pence will coordinate efforts to combat the spread of the new coronavirus in the country.
"I entrust [the fight against coronavirus] to our vice president Michael Pence. Michael will work with professionals – doctors and others who work [on this problem]. An excellent team," said the head of the Washington administration. “Michael will lead [the administration’s efforts in this direction]. Michael will inform me, he has a certain talent for this,” the American leader continued.
In turn, Pence, speaking at the same press conference, noted that "he is looking forward to working in this role." He recalled that earlier Trump created a special group to fight against coronavirus, which included representatives of the Washington administration, as well as experts in the fight against infectious diseases. “This team has been gathering every day since its inception. My role will be to continue to bring this team together, to present the best options for the president,” explained Pence. He added that the group, among other things, will continue to work with representatives of local and municipal authorities, as well as with members of Congress.
The US vice president added that after the outbreak of the coronavirus, the US president "took unprecedented steps" to protect US citizens. "For the American public, the threat of the spread of coronavirus remains low," Pence said.
Message restriction
The president also said that the United States could restrict, if necessary, communication with countries affected by the new coronavirus.
“We can do this in due time, but this is not the right time,” he said, answering a question about whether the US administration is considering limiting communications with the Republic of Korea, Italy and other countries affected by the coronavirus.
“We are checking many people who come from South Korea and Italy who have been quite affected [by the spread of the virus]. What is happening in China is already obvious. But the number of [cases] seems to be decreasing in China, which is very the good news. So let's see what happens, "Trump added.
He said the United States denied entry to several foreign nationals coming from China due to an outbreak of coronavirus. "We refused entry to [a few] foreigners who arrived in the US from China," he said. "We are checking people coming from countries where the virus has spread. This is done at a very high level."
"We have very good quarantine opportunities. We are rapidly developing a vaccine," the US president said.
Impact on the economy
According to Trump, the outbreak of the new coronavirus will affect the American economy, but it will recover, the country is projected to have extremely low unemployment.
"We will have an extremely low unemployment rate. We can’t say exactly what will happen to the [country’s] GDP, but it [coronavirus] will affect the GDP. We are making great progress [in the economy]," head of state.
He admitted that the situation around the coronavirus has affected the fall of key indices on the New York Stock Exchange, which has been happening in recent days. "After I win the [presidential] election [in November], the stock market expects such rapid growth that has never been before," said the American leader. He once again criticized the policy of the Federal Reserve System (FRS) of the United States, performing the functions of the Central Bank of the country.
