'Who knows which administration it will be': says Trump in first public address since Election Day

Nov 14, 2020

Washington [US], November 14 : President Donald Trump, who has so far refused to concede the US election on Friday (local time) appeared to acknowledge that he might not be in office, next year, and said his administration won't order new coronavirus lockdowns.
In his first public address since the disputed presidential elections in which Joe Biden has been projected as the 46th US President, Trump gave an update on his government's coronavirus response.
"...will not be going into a lockdown... hopefully, 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," Trump said in his address from the Rose Garden at the White House.
Updating on Operation Warp Speed, which is his administration's effort to accelerate the development and distribution of a coronavirus vaccine, Trump said that the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer will be distributed to the frontline workers, the elderly and high-risk Americans "in a matter of weeks" and to the general population by April.
Our investment will make it possible for the vaccine to be provided by Pfizer free of charge!," Trump said.
The President, however, said that New York won't get the vaccine.
"As soon as April, the vaccine will be available to the entire general population with the exception of places like New York state where for political reasons the Governor wants to take his time for the vaccine. He doesn't trust the fact that it is this White House this administration that is bringing in the vaccine".
Trump said that his administration's Operation Warp Speed made it possible for the vaccine to be developed in less than a year.
"Had it been a different administration, in my opinion, it would have taken 3-5 years and then it would have been with the FDA forever," he said.
The vaccine developed by Pfizer, which announced last week that it was more than 90 per cent effective, will be approved "very, very quickly," Trump said.
"The average development timeline for a vaccine, including clinical tests and manufacturing can take between 8 to 12 years. Through Operation Warp Speed, we're doing it in less than one year, if you had a different administration and different people, it would have taken 3, 4, 5 years and it would have been in the FDA forever. This is five times faster than the fastest vaccine development in history," he said.
He also said: "Three other vaccines are also in the final stages of trial."
According to the latest data by the Johns Hopkins University, the US has reported 10,693,773 COVID-19 cases and 243,466 deaths so far.