US FDA chief refuses to back Trump's 'year-end' coronavirus vaccine claim

US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) chief refused to back President Donald Trump’s prediction that a COVID-19 vaccine will be ready before year-end. In an interview with ABC News on July 5, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said that he can’t predict when a vaccine for vel coronavirus will be available after Trump claimed that a vaccine or rapeutic cure will be available “long before” year-end.

"We are unleashing our nation's scientific brilliance and we'll likely have a rapeutic and/or vaccine solution long before end of year," said US President during his Independence Day address at White House.

Trump boasted that US is doing “unbelievably well” in terms of remedies and ahead in vaccines, treatments, and rapeutics. He also thanked scientists and researchers around country and world working at forefront of life-saving treatments and vaccine development.

Read: Donald Trump Claims 99% Coronavirus Cases In US Are 'harmless' As Infections Spike

However, FDA chief stopped short of backing Trump’s claim when asked about his prediction of a “vaccine solution” before year-end. While Hahn asserted that country is seeing “unprecedented speed” for vaccine development, he didn’t reveal timeline of its availability, adding that authorities will make a decision based on “data and science”.

comment on Trump's assertion

In ar interview with CNN, Hahn refused to comment on Trump’s assertion that 99 per cent of coronavirus cases are totally harmless. He said that he’s t going to comment on “who is right and who is wrong”. United States has reported nearly 2.9 million confirmed cases of coronavirus and over 129,000 deaths, highest numbers worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Centre.

World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that countries t taking pandemic seriously and refusing to allocate resources to combat health emergency will face a “long and hard road ahead”. During a virtual press briefing, WHO Director-General Tedros Adham Ghebreyesus accused some nations, without naming m, of adopting a fragmented approach in combating vel coronavirus.

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