Coronavirus deaths are at nearly 200,000, as President Donald Trump has targeted a spring deadline for a vaccine, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Trump said during a White House press conference Friday the administration is committing to giving every American a COVID-19 vaccine by April.
That deadline is sooner than offered by the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Robert Redfield, who said a vaccine could be available by the third quarter of 2021.
The U.S. added almost 50,000 coronavirus cases Saturday, while deaths nationwide approached 200,000, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg. Florida reported the most new cases among residents in eight days.
Florida reported the most new cases and the highest positive-test rate among residents since Sept. 10, according to a state Department of Health report that reflects data received through Friday. Test positivity increased to 4.5% from 4.1% a day earlier. Cases, including people diagnosed with Covid-19 who don’t reside in Florida, increased by 3,573 to 681,233. Virus-related deaths among residents declined for the second consecutive day to 67, bringing the total to 13,287.
California’s latest numbers climbed above the 14-day averages for both new cases and deaths, according to the health department’s website. The state reported 4,304 new coronavirus cases, versus the 14-day average of 3,350. The number of deaths increased by 100, compared with a 91 average. There have been 14,912 fatalities in all.
Coronavirus task force expert Dr. Anthony Fauci told The Wall Street Journal this week if a vaccine candidate was found to be safe and effective by October, it would probably hit the market for some vulnerable populations and emergency workers by 2021. He added it would be more widely distributed by the end of 2021.
According to Johns Hopkins, the United States has hit 49,522 new coronavirus cases Friday. That represents the highest daily increase in coronavirus cases since Sept. 4. Montana, North Dakota, Utah, and Wisconsin all reached their highest daily increases Friday.
So far, the United States has reported more than 199,000 COVID-19 releated deaths, per the report.
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