Very close to having a vaccine says Donald Trump, raises hope

Philadelphia: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that the coronavirus vaccine could be ready in 3 to 4 weeks, raising hopes among people around the globe even as COVID numbers continue to spiral up.

"The previous administration would have taken perhaps years to have a vaccine, because of the FDA and all the approvals," Trump said at a town hall event hosted by ABC News. "We're within weeks of getting it. You know, could be three weeks, four weeks."

Meanwhile, Democrats have expressed concern that the President is putting political pressure on the government's health regulators and scientists to approve a rushed vaccine. This rush comes at a time when Trump is getting ready for a re-contest against challenger Joe Biden on November 3.

Experts including Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, US, said vaccine approval is more likely toward the end of this year.

At the event, Trump was asked why he had downplayed the gravity of the Covid-19 pandemic which has killed nearly 2,00,000 people in the US, to which he said, '' I didn't downplay. I actually, in many ways, have up-played it in terms of action.''

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