When will a coronavirus vaccine be ready?
by Laura Spinney from on (#51RRG)
Human trials will begin imminently - but even if they go well and a cure is found, there are many barriers before global immunisation is feasible
Even at their most effective - and draconian - containment strategies have only slowed the spread of the respiratory disease Covid-19. With the World Health Organization finally declaring a pandemic, all eyes have turned to the prospect of a vaccine, because only a vaccine can prevent people from getting sick.
About 35 companies and academic institutions are racing to create such a vaccine, at least four of which already have candidates they have been testing in animals. The first of these - produced by Boston-based biotech firm Moderna - will enter human trials imminently.
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