COVID-19 vaccine may be ready by year-end, says WHO chief

Guwahati: At a time when the entire world's eyes are glued to a vaccine solution to defeat the novel coronavirus, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday that a 'safe and effective' vaccine against the novel coronavirus disease may be ready by the end of 2020.

"We will need vaccines and there is hope that by the end of this year we may have a vaccine," WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at the meeting recently.

The WHO chief also urged all the leaders to ensure equal distribution of anti-virus vaccines when they become available. Calling for solidarity, Tedros said that the world community has to use "all the energy we have to fight the virus."

In a related development, the US Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday told COVID-19 vaccine developers that it would need at least two months of safety data after a full vaccination regime to review applications for emergency use.

Also Watch: #NewsMakers: An exclusive conversation with Megh Nidhi Dahal(IAS), DC, Hailakandi