President Trump Appoints Pence to Head Coronavirus Task Force

By Daily Caller. President Donald Trump appointed Vice President Mike Pence to head the Coronavirus task force charged with preparing for and preventing outbreaks in the United States Wednesday night.

The White House press briefing came hours after Trump returned from a diplomatic trip to India, and he described the current threat level of the disease as “low” in the U.S. His statement echoed that of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar in a Tuesday press briefing, where he described the virus as “contained,” but warned that more cases are expected as borders can’t be closed off entirely. Pence will replace Azar as head of the task force and report directly to the president.

Trump went on to cite a study from Johns Hopkins University that found the U.S. was the most well-prepared nation in the world when it comes to a flu-like outbreak such as Coronavirus.

“It could be at a small level or a larger level,” Trump said of the potential U.S. outbreak. “Whatever happens we’re totally prepared. We have the best people in the world. You see that from the study. We have the best prepared people, the best people in the world. Congress is willing to give us much more than we’re even asking for. That’s nice for a change. But we are totally ready, willing and able. It’s a term we use. Ready, willing and able. It’s going to be very well-under control.” (Read more from “President Trump Appoints Pence to Head Coronavirus Task Force” HERE)

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Trump Says Coronavirus Vaccine Coming Along ‘Rapidly’

By Fox News. As fears spread of a possible coronavirus outbreak in the U.S, President Trump addressed the nation in a Wednesday evening news conference at the White House to discuss how his administration was handling the virus threat — saying that a vaccine is being developed “rapidly” and “coming along very well.”

However, Anthony Fauci, who heads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said later at the press conference that a vaccine would not be applicable to the epidemic for a “year to a year and a half,” due to delays from testing, development, production and distribution.

The freewheeling and sometimes confusing press conference marked a rare appearance by the president in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room, as he usually takes questions from reporters outside the White House while his Marine One helicopter prepares for takeoff. . .

So far, there have been 60 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the U.S. in total. That figure includes individuals who have been repatriated to the United States, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar later clarified at the podium. Fifteen people were in the initial set of cases, three more came from evacuation flights, and 42 were from the Diamond Princess ship that was quarantined by Japanese health authorities earlier this month. (Read more from “Trump Says Coronavirus Vaccine Coming Along ‘Rapidly'” HERE)

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