Donald Trump said although he is hopeful a coronavirus vaccine will be found by the end of the year the US will be reopening either way.
The US president reiterated that he wants to see states move forward and ease lockdown restrictions to boost economies.
The news comes as Moncef Slaoui, a former pharmaceutical executive appointed as a virus tsar by Mr Trump, said that early trial data suggests that “a few hundred million doses of vaccine” will be delivered by late 2020.
Speaking at a Rose Garden event, Mr Trump said: “We are back, vaccine or no vaccine."
The president also said he has no concerns about a rapid coronavirus test that he has been relying on to ensure his safety.
The swab which is used daily at the White House to test Mr Trump, key members of his staff as well as any visitors to the complex, has been the subject of scrutiny.
New York University data suggested the test may return an inordinate share of false negatives and the Food and Drug Administration also announced it was investigating preliminary data suggesting the Abbott Labororitie test can miss a large number of Covid-19 cases.
Mr Trump expressed confidence in the kit and said: “Abbott is a great test, it’s a very quick test.
“And it can always be very rapidly double-checked.”
The tests were also used to justify most White House staffers’ decisions not to wear masks until they were ordered to do so earlier this week.
“We’ve got to get to the bottom of it, but we still have confidence in the test or we wouldn’t have it on the market,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told Fox Business Network.
