Trump Pledges in RNC Speech: ‘We’ll Produce a Vaccine Before the End of the Year’

Soaring promises — like George H.W. Bush’s “Read my lips, no new taxes” pledge in 1988 — have long been staples of American political conventions. On Thursday night, President Donald Trump made his — pledging to have a coronavirus vaccine out by the end of 2020.

In the early moments of his remarks at the White House, the president issued his guarantee.

“We are delivering lifesaving therapies, and we’ll produce a vaccine before the end of the year, or maybe even sooner,” Trump said.

The line drew applause from the crowd gathered on the South Lawn. The question, of course, is whether the president can deliver. Dr. Anthony Fauci, for one, has warned against rushing out a vaccine.

“The one thing that you would not want to see with a vaccine is getting an EUA (emergency use authorization) before you have a signal of efficacy,” Fauci told Reuters earlier this week. “One of the potential dangers if you prematurely let a vaccine out is that it would make it difficult, if not impossible, for the other vaccines to enroll people in their trial.”

In late July, Dr. Fauci testified before a House committee that he is optimistic a vaccine will be readily available in early 2021. He recently told the Washington Post he’s “skeptical” of a vaccine hitting the market any sooner. There are several candidates currently in Phase 3 trials. But their impact remains to be seen, with some experts predicting it could be less than 50 effective.

Watch above, via CNN.