The UN health agency welcomed the fact that a "considerable number" of vaccine candidates had entered final stage Phase III trials, which typically involve tens of thousands of people. However, she stressed, "in terms of realistic timelines, we are really not expecting to see widespread vaccination until the middle of next year." Under normal procedures, test administrators must wait for months or years to verify that vaccine candidates are safe and efficacious. No cutting cornersThe worry is that, for emergency use approval, the bar for ruling a vaccine safe and effective is lower than that for normal full approvals. According to the WHO, 34 vaccine candidates worldwide are currently in the various phases of being tested on humans, while a further 142 are in pre-clinical evaluation.

Source: Dhaka Tribune September 04, 2020 15:45 UTC