'End Is In Sight': Chairman Of UPMC's Board Of Directors Says End Of Coronavirus Pandemic Is Close

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- In a rare interview, Nicholas Beckwith — the chairman of UPMC's board of directors — told KDKA's Jon Delano that the end of the coronavirus pandemic is in sight.

"I think we are all optimists. I think we are entitled to say, that potentially, the end is in sight. Placing a date on that would be too great a challenge," Beckwith said on Wednesday. "But a lot of work is being done locally, particularly at the University of Pittsburgh and globally as well, in exploring vaccine candidates. And as a bridging event, synthetic antibodies, which could be used to lessen the impact of the disease or accelerate our solution to it."

Beckwith says UPMC's board couldn't be more proud of the health care workers.

Including Wednesday's tally of 19 new coronavirus cases, Allegheny County has averaged 22 cases a day over the past two weeks