Swaminathan said at least 10 companies had expressed an interest in or submitted a request for emergency approval for vaccine candidates. Pfizer's vaccine has already received emergency approval in Britain and Canada, and could receive US approval within days. WHO officials described the arrival of vaccines as a major development, but stressed repeatedly that it would take a long time before vaccines could be rolled out worldwide. Bruce Aylward, a senior adviser to Tedros, added: "It is a long tunnel, to give it to you straight. It is a long tunnel."

Source: bd News24 December 11, 2020 18:00 UTC