Trump touts vaccine efforts at press conference, promises 'very rapid' delivery

President Trump on Friday touted his administration's efforts to develop a COVID-19 vaccine over the course of 2020, claiming that the vaccine, when finally approved, will be distributed "very rapidly" throughout the country. 

"Millions of doses will soon be going out the door," Trump said at the event, which highlighted the accomplishments of the White House's Operation Warp Speed. 

The president said that elderly Americans will be among the prioritized recipients of the vaccine, which will "allow seniors to reclaim ... the golden years of their lives," he said. Older individuals are markedly susceptible to COVID-19; many have been sheltering in place in private homes and nursing facilities since the pandemic began in the late winter here. 

While discussing the upcoming distribution of the reportedly efficacious vaccine, Trump also stressed that his administration would not consider advocating another shutdown of the country.

 "This administration will not, under any circumstances, go into [another] lockdown," he said. His 2020 competitor and the presumptive President-elect, Joe Biden, has in the past expressed support for a second lockdown, while one of Biden's principal COVID advisers, Michael Osterholm, has also publicly advocated such a plan.