A WHO spokeswoman, during a briefing, stressed on the importance of rigorous checks on a vaccine's effectiveness and safety
Even as the race for an effective COVID-19 vaccine continues, the World Health Organisation (WHO) on September 4 said it does not expect widespread vaccination until mid-2021 and that "none of the vaccine candidates have a clear signal of efficacy at the level of at least 50 percent" sought by the body.
A WHO spokeswoman, during a briefing, stressed on the importance of rigorous checks on a vaccine's effectiveness and safety.
"We are really not expecting to see widespread vaccination until the middle of next year," Margaret Harris told a UN briefing in Geneva.
"Phase 3 must take longer because we need to see how truly protective the vaccine is. We also need to see how safe it is," she added. In phase 3, large scale clinical trials are conducted among people.
Harris did not refer to any specific vaccine candidate, news agency Reuters reported. "A lot of people have been vaccinated and what we don't know is whether the vaccine works...at this stage we do not have the clear signal of whether or not it has the level of worthwhile efficacy and safety...," she added.
Russia granted regulatory approval to a COVID-19 vaccine in August after less than two months of human testing, prompting some Western experts to question its safety and efficacy.
US public health officials and Pfizer said on September 4 a vaccine could be ready for distribution as soon as late October. That would be just ahead of the US election on November 3 in which the pandemic is likely to be a major factor among voters deciding whether President Donald Trump wins a second term.
(With inputs from Reuters)