'There may never be a vaccine for COVID-19'
Scientists at Cobra Biologic are working on a potential vaccine for COVID-19, following the outbreak of the coronavirus COVID-19 in Britain. REUTERS/Carl Recine
By Park Si-soo
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says there may never be a vaccine for COVID-19 despite the huge global effort to develop one.
Johnson
said, “There remains a very long way to go, and I must be frank that a vaccine might not come to fruition. We need to find new ways to control the virus.”
He said these ways included testing people who had symptoms and tracing the contacts of infected people.
The British government is giving 93 million pounds ($110 million) to speed the opening of the new Vaccine Manufacturing and Innovation Center. Johnson said the U.K. was also supporting research into drug treatments to help people recover quickly from the virus.
'COVID-19 vaccine by end of year'
U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday he was hopeful a coronavirus vaccine would be on the market by the end of the year or shortly thereafter.
"We are looking to get it by the end of the year if we can, maybe before," Trump said, as he delivered an update on the race for a vaccine. "We think we are going to have some very good results coming out very quickly.”
China has five virus vaccines in human trials
China has five potential coronavirus vaccines in human trials and more are on the way, a health official said Friday, according to AFP news agency.
So far there had been no "major adverse reactions" reported among the 2,575 volunteers participating in the phase-two tests, said Zeng Yixin, National Health Commission deputy director.
“According to the plan, if all goes well, the above projects will complete the second phase of clinical trials in July this year,” AFP quoted Zeng as saying. More possible vaccines were in the pipeline and awaiting approval for human trials, it reported.
Zeng did not say when the trials, which must complete three phases for the drug to be approved for use, might be finished.