Trump says coronavirus will 'go away without a vaccine' as U.S. records 1.28 million coronavirus cases 

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday asserted without evidence that the coronavirus will "go away without a vaccine" as confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. soared to over 1.28 million. 

"This is going to go away without a vaccine, it's gonna go away, and we're not going to see it again, hopefully, after a period of time," Trump told reporters at an event with Republican lawmakers in the While House. "You may have some flare-ups, and I guess I would expect that."

"I just rely on what doctors say. They say it's going to go. That doesn't mean this year. It doesn't mean, frankly, it's going to be gone before the fall or after the fall, but eventually it's going to go away. The question is whether we will need a vaccine. At some point it will probably go away by itself.”

The U.S. has recorded 1,282,003 coronavirus cases as of 18:32 EST on Friday, Johns Hopkins' latest tally shows.

The death toll in the U.S. has reached 77,126 and Trump said he estimates 95,000 or more deaths in the country.

"We may be talking about 95,000 people, ultimately," Trump said. "We may be talking about something more than that."

(With input from agencies)