A Chinese TV report said researchers at Zhejiang University had found an effective drug for the virus, while Britain's Sky News said researchers had made a "significant breakthrough" in developing a vaccine. Asked about the reports, WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said: "There are no known effective therapeutics against this 2019-nCoV (virus) and the WHO recommends enrolment into a randomized controlled trial to test efficacy and safety." Even at the accelerated pace enabled by new technologies, the earliest that scientists hope to be able to start initial human trials of a new coronavirus vaccine is by June this year. "We are doing this before knowing whether the drug is safe and effective to treat 2019-nCoV," the spokesman said. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva, Kate Kelland in London and Roxanne Liu in Beijing, editing by Mark John and Giles Elgood)

Source: The Star February 05, 2020 12:18 UTC