US President Donald Trump says the US will reopen, "vaccine or no vaccine", as he announced an objective to deliver a coronavirus vaccine by year-end.
He compared the vaccine project, dubbed "Operation Warp Speed", to the World War Two effort to produce the world's first nuclear weapons.
But Trump made clear that even without a vaccine, Americans must begin to return to their lives as normal.
Many experts doubt that a coronavirus vaccine can be developed within a year.
Speaking at a White House Rose Garden news conference Trump said the project would begin with studies on 14 promising vaccine candidates for accelerated research and approval.
Trump named an Army general and a former healthcare executive to lead the operation, a partnership between the government and private sector to find and distribute a vaccine.
Moncef Slaoui, who previously led the vaccines division at pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, will lead the mission, while Gen Gustave Perna, who oversees distribution for the US Army, is to serve as chief operating officer.
Many experts say a vaccine is the only thing that will give Americans confidence in fully reopening the economy in the absence of widespread testing.
[Source: BBC]
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