MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th February, 2020) The World Health Organization (WHO) head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Tuesday that the anti-coronavirus vaccine could be ready in 18 months and called upon the international community to consolidate efforts in fighting the virus in the meantime while there is still a chance to do so.
Ghebreyesus spoke at a two-day international forum on coronavirus, which has now been officially labeled COVID-19, with over 400 scientists attending in person and via the internet.
"[Vaccines] will take time to develop, but in the meantime, we are not defenseless. There are many basic public interventions that are available to us now and which can prevent infections now. For instance, the first vaccine could be ready in 18 months, so we have to do everything today using the available weapon to fight this virus, while preparing for the long-term," Ghebreyesus said.
The WHO chief reiterated the international call for $675 million to be invested in the fight against the virus, extending thanks to countries that have contributed and urging those that have not to "contribute urgently."
"There are many positive signals in terms of funding and we hope all these positive signals will materialize. If we invest now in rational and evidence-based interventions we have a realistic chance of stopping this outbreak. We have a window of opportunity," Ghebreyesus said, citing that while in China the infections count over 40,000, in other countries the toll is in its 300s.
"Let's be serious in using the window of opportunity we have. We shouldn't lose this window of opportunity. If we lose, we will regret it," he added.
The official noted China's role in fighting the COVID-19, saying that the measures Beijing had taken were extremely timely and life-saving.
The Chinese Finance Ministry had allocated 1 billion Yuan ($145 million) to the province of Hubei alone, for fighting the new coronavirus.
The novel coronavirus strain was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December and has since spread to 24 countries. As of Tuesday, over 42,700 people count infected and over 1,000 killed by the virus in China. The toll in other countries stands at 393 cases with one confirmed fatality.
