Coronavirus Vaccine: President Trump Says vaccine production Will Begin Even Before Final Approvals

President Trump said Friday the possible candidates for a coronavirus vaccine have been narrowed to 14 and manufacture will begin before final Food and Drug Administration approvals are given. Trump said he's hoping a viable vaccine will be available before the end of the year

In adition to vaccine development, some 130 therapies for COVID-19 are undergoing trials, with 450 others in the planning stages.

By early afternoon Friday, the virus had killed more than 86,200 Americans.

"When a vaccine is ready the U.S. government will deploy every soldier and plane available to deploy it," Trump pledged in an announcement in the Rose Garden.

Trump characterized the $10 billion search for a coronavirus vaccine as the "most aggressive in history" and likened it to the Mahnattan Project, which saw the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.

"Tremendous strides are being made," Trump said.

Trump hailed Americans for continuing to take precautions against the pandemic, adding that whether or not a vaccine is developed, America has to get back to work.

"Vaccine or no vaccine, we're back. We're starting the process," he said.