Trump ‘looking at’ making coronavirus vaccine free

President claims vaccine could be ready by end of 2020 though health officials say optimistic timeline unlikely

Donald Trump said he is “looking at” making a coronavirus vaccine free, after claiming his administration is moving at “warp speed” to develop a treatment by the end of the year.

Asked whether vaccines should be free, the president told reporters that “we’re looking at that actually” as he departed the White House for Camp David.

“But we’re making a lot of progress on vaccines,” he added. “But we’ll be speaking to you very soon and I think we’re going to have a very good couple of meetings at Camp David.”

Earlier on Friday, the president claimed that “vaccine or no vaccine, we’re back” as nearly every state in the US began easing quarantine efforts and reopening businesses as the nation’s death toll climbed above 85,000.

He said: ”When a vaccine is ready, the US government will deploy every plane, truck and soldier required to help distribute it to the American people as quickly as possible.”

But health officials have said the president’s optimistic timeline is unlikely.

Dr Rick Bright, the ousted federal whistleblower whose agency oversees vaccine development, testified to congress that a vaccine can be developed and available to the public within 12 to 18 months “if everything goes perfectly”.

“We’ve never seen everything go perfectly,” he said ”I still think 12 to 18 months is an aggressive schedule, and I think it’s going to take longer than that to do so.”

Dr Anthony Fauci, the top health official leading the Trump administration’s response to the outbreak, testified to the US Senate this week that vaccine development will probably take up to 18 months.

He told a Senate panel that he is concerned that US schools could reopen before a vaccine is available, potentially turning parts of the US into flashpoints that could spawn ”little outbreaks” that officials “might not be able to control”.

The president, who has pushed for schools to reopen amid the public health crisis, criticised Dr Fauci’s remarks.

Dozens of world leaders have called for future Covid-19 vaccines to be freely available and free of patents, according to an open letter to be published in the World Health Assembly, the World Health Organisation’s policy-setting body. The letter argues for vaccine research to be shared with the world as it becomes available.

The letter follows claims from the head of a French drug manufacturer that the “US government has the right to the largest pre-order because it’s invested in taking the risk” Bloomberg reported that Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson as saying.

Last month, the Trump administration said that ”there will be no US official participation” in a WHO programme joining world leaders to speed the development of a vaccine and share resources in the fight against the virus, following the president’s suspension of millions of dollars for the international health organisation amid his accusations that WHO was “covering up” China’s role in the outbreak.

An administration official said: “We look forward to learning more about this initiative in support of international cooperation to develop a vaccine for Covid-19 as soon as possible.”

But closer to home, progressive lawmakers and healthcare advocacy groups have pressed officials to commit to providing free vaccines when they’re made available.

During Senate hearing this week, Vermont senator Bernie Sanders grilled Food and Drug Administration commissioner Stephen Hahn and Brett Giroir, assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Human Services, about the potential for a free vaccine, though both men said the decision wasn’t up to them.