Barendrechts Dagblad | WHO is tempering expectations for vaccine availability

It will take until at least mid-2021 before large-scale vaccination against the corona virus can be carried out. The World Health Organization (WHO) warns against this, despite the fact that the development of a number of vaccines is at an advanced stage.

The whole world is eagerly awaiting a vaccine against corona. And it is expected that a vaccine should be available within a few months or even weeks. On Tuesday, for example, Minister Hugo de Jonge said he hoped to “receive the first vaccines in the first months of 2021”.

But a WHO spokeswoman is now tempering high expectations. “We know at least six to nine (vaccines) are well underway with the research.” But, she says, “on a realistic timeframe, we really don’t expect a large-scale vaccination until the middle of next year.”

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also said on Friday that the World Health Organization will not support vaccines if they are not proven to be safe. “They are only used if they prove to be effective and safe. I would assure the world that.”

Under normal circumstances, it takes months or even years for health authorities to approve a candidate vaccine to make sure it is safe. But due to the scale of the corona pandemic, pressure is growing to accelerate the approval of corona vaccines.

Currently, according to WHO, there are 34 vaccine candidates that are being tested in humans in different stages. And there are another 142 in the pipeline.

Russia has already approved a vaccine. According to a study published Friday in the medical journal The Lancet, the first group of patients tested with the vaccine developed antibodies without “serious side effects”. But other scientists are still skeptical, warning that the 76 participants in the study are too few to determine the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine.

By: ANP | Photo: ANP

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