Trump promises vaccine to all Americans, except New Yorkers

US President Donald Trump has announced that a coronavirus vaccine will soon be available for the entire country, except New York, prompting Governor Andrew Cuomo to accuse the president of taking personal revenge on the state for political reasons.

“As soon as April the vaccine will be available to the entire general population with the exception of places like New York State," Trump said at a press conference on Operation Warp Speed (OWS) and vaccine distribution on Friday.

Trump claimed OWS expedited the development, manufacturing, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, adding that the current coronavirus "vaccine is more than 90 percent effective."

He said the vaccine will be available to all Americans within a few months; however, New York will not be getting the vaccine unless the governor approves it.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has expressed doubt about the Trump administration’s claim that the Pfizer vaccine was safe and said he would wait until more tests were conducted by experts.

Trump claimed Cuomo, his longtime antagonist from Queens, had not authorized the vaccine for political reasons. "Governor Cuomo will have to let us know.”

“He doesn’t trust ... this administration, so we won’t be delivering to New York until we have authorization to do so,” Trump said  of the governor. “We can’t be delivering it to a state that won’t be giving it to its people immediately.”

Cuomo, a Democrat who has been a vocal critic and written a book about Trump's poor leadership skills in handling the pandemic, said the president was taking personal revenge and retaliating.

“Everything is personal with this president. There can’t be a disagreement on principle, and he retaliates,” Cuomo said.

Meanwhile, US hospitals reported the coronavirus infection rate climbed amid signs of a second wave.

Hospitalizations hit all-time high as US sets another record for COVID-19 cases

Hospitals around the US have come under pressure amid signs of a second wave of the coronavirus outbreak.

The US has reported a total of more than 244,000 deaths throughout the pandemic.

However, the death toll could nearly double by March 1,  according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

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