NEWS ITEM
Don't expect first COVID-19 vaccinations until early 2021: WHO expert Researchers are making "good progress" in developing vaccines against COVID-19, with a handful in late-stage trials, but their first use cannot be expected until early 2021, a World Health Organization (WHO) expert said on Wednesday (Jul 22). WHO is working to ensure fair vaccine distribution, but in the meantime it is key to suppress the virus' spread, said Dr Mike Ryan, head of WHO's emergencies programme, as daily new cases around the globe are at near-record levels. "We're making good progress," Dr Ryan said, noting that several vaccines were now in phase 3 trials and none had failed so far, in terms of safety or ability to generate an immune response."Realistically it is going to be the first part of next year before we start seeing people getting vaccinated," he told a public event on social media. Aubree Gordon, associate professor of epidemiology at University of ...