Trump optimistic coronavirus vaccine will be ready this year, possibly by U.S. election

By Michael Shields and Ludwig Burger Posted on August 6, 2020

U.S. President Trump holds a COVID-19 pandemic briefing at the White House in Washington

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he was optimistic a coronavirus vaccine would be ready before the end of 2020, possibly in time for the Nov. 3 presidential election.

Trump, speaking to reporters as he departed the White House for a trip to a Whirlpool washing machine factory in Ohio, said a vaccine release around the time of the election “wouldn’t hurt,” but the goal of the effort was to save lives.

(Reporting by Lisa Lambert, writing by David Lawder, editing by Chris Reese)