President Donald Trump said during a White House briefing on Tuesday that the doctors who are working on a coronavirus vaccine also invented an AIDS vaccine, which doesn’t exist.
During the briefing held to discuss police reforms and the current protests against police brutality and racism, Trump also commented on the coronavirus vaccine research, praising the scientists working on it.
“I have great respect for their minds. They have come up with things. They’ve come up with many other cures and therapeutics over the years,” Trump said. “They’ve come up with the AIDS vaccine.”
Trump also added that “AIDS was a death sentence, and now people live a life with a pill. It’s an incredible thing.”
While there is no cure or vaccine for AIDS, there are antiretroviral drugs that keep HIV at bay, controlling it as a chronic condition and prolonging the lives of HIV patients. Without proper control, HIV can develop into AIDS.
According to government data, around 1.1 million people in the U.S. have HIV, and almost 40,000 Americans get diagnosed with the virus each year.
