The Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has on Tuesday said a vaccine targeting the coronavirus could be available in 18 months.
He made the disclosure following a two-day meeting in Geneva which also announced 'Covid-19' as the official name of the coronavirus.
“it maybe 18 months before the first vaccine is available, so we have to do everything today, using available weapons,” Ghebreyesus said.
The meeting was aimed at providing a guide and response plans towards fighting the disease outbreak. Also, it will identify and bridge knowledge gaps as well as prioritise the availability of medical products for the fight of the virus.
According to Pharmaceutical Technology, The meeting was attended by nearly 300 public health agencies, scientists, research funders and ministries of health.
Ghebreyesus called for the continuous flow of information on the transmission pattern, level of infectiousness and the best methods of diagnosis and monitoring of the virus.
Speaking on the outbreak, Fadela Chaib, WHO spokesperson said," We are still in the very early stage of understanding this virus.
How it is transmitted, the source of the virus, the incubation period, the clinical features, the severity of it, 99% of cases are in China; this remains very much an emergency for that country, but it’s also a high risk for the region, Asia and for the world."
"They are not only talking about vaccines or therapeutics or diagnostic tests, but they will also talk about the human-animal interface of this virus.
They will also talk about the clinical features of the patients they have seen, they will share information about all of this," Chaib said at the meeting.
