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WHO: Mass COVID Vaccinations Unlikely Before Middle of 2021

Lisa Schlein

   GENEVA - The World Health Organization says it is unlikely a safe,
   effective vaccine
   against COVID-19 will be available for widespread use before the middle
   of next year.

   Urging people to lower their expectations, health officials say the
   development of a safe, efficacious vaccine takes time and cannot be
   rushed. As it is, the WHO reports remarkable progress is being made
   toward this end. It notes at least six to nine candidate vaccines have
   begun Phase 3 clinical trials.
   WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris says many thousands of people
   participate in these carefully crafted trials. She says a vaccine must
   be proven to be safe and seen to provide protection against the
   coronavirus in at least 50% of subjects before it can be approved for
   public use.
   Harris says the safety of the vaccine has to be monitored at all stages
   of the research, making this a lengthy process.
   "The good news is the manufacturers are already putting bets on which
   one is likely to be the vaccine. And, they are all working on how they
   can scale-up production of vaccines, once we know which ones are the
   ones we will roll out.'¦ But, in terms of realistic timelines, we are
   really not expecting to see widespread vaccination until the middle of
   next year," she said.

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