'COVID-19 vaccine trial results expected by 2020 end'

By Peter Kenny and Bayram Altug

GENEVA (AA) – The WHO said Wednesday that Phase 3 clinical trials of eight to nine vaccine candidates for the novel coronavirus are continuing, with results expected at the end of the year.

"We expect that the results from this large-scale trial phase, enrolling at times 30,000-60,000 people will begin to come in at the end of the year," spokesperson Margaret Harris told Anadolu Agency. "After the data is available, regulatory authorities will need to assess the safety and efficacy, and manufacturing for approved vaccines will begin."

"No COVID vaccine has received emergency use listing from the WHO," she said, responding to a question if China has been given the blessing for coronavirus vaccine emergency use program. "The most recent development on this issue was on Sept. 25 when the WHO released draft criteria for emergency use listing."

The WHO spokesperson added that around 200 candidate vaccines are currently at some development stage.

"Of these, 38 vaccine candidates are in human trials, and about 8-9 are in or entering Phase 3 trials. There are several others currently in Phase 1 and 2, which will enter Phase 3 in the next two months," she said.

Given that timeline, Harris said the WHO does not expect doses to begin arriving in countries until the middle of 2021 or in the second or third quarter of the year.

The WHO is working with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance to ensure equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines around the globe once they're available but superpowers the US, China, and Russia have not opted for the initiative.

While in the US pharma giants have resisted the idea of taking a shortcut in rolling out a vaccine for the novel virus, despite pressure from President Donald Trump; China and Russia have started vaccinating certain people with their own experimental vaccines.

*With additional input from News Desk in Ankara