WHO says safe COVID-19 vaccines probably won’t be ready until mid-2021

Widespread vaccinations against the coronavirus won’t likely be available until mid-2021, The World Health Organization said Friday — contradicting an earlier report that one would be ready before the US presidential election in November.

Not one of the candidate vaccines in advanced clinical trials has shown a “clear signal” of 50 percent efficacy, which the WHO is seeking to move forward, a spokeswoman for the organization said.

“We are really not expecting to see widespread vaccination until the middle of next year,” WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris said at a UN briefing in Geneva.

“A lot of people have been vaccinated and what we don’t know is whether the vaccine works … at this stage, we do not have the clear signal of whether or not it has the level of worthwhile efficacy and safety.”

She said the third phase of safety research — where the drug is tested on people in large clinical trials — shouldn’t be rushed.

“This phase 3 must take longer because we need to see how truly protective the vaccine is and we also need to see how safe it is,” she said, adding that data from all of the trials must also be shared and compared.

Her statement flies in the face of comments made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials earlier this week that a vaccine could be ready for distribution by Nov. 1.

Whether the vaccine is released in the US before Nov. 3 is expected to be a major factor among voters deciding whether President Trump should be reelected.

Drug regulators were not as thorough in Russia, where regulatory approval for a COVID-19 vaccine was granted in August after less than two months of human testing — raising concerns about dangers among western health experts.

The WHO is part of a global vaccine alliance known as COVAX, which aims to buy and deliver 2 billion doses of approved vaccines by the end of 2021. The US, which has secured its own supplies through bilateral deals, has refused to join.

“Essentially, the door is open. We are open. What the COVAX is about is making sure everybody on the planet will get access to the vaccines,” Harris said.

With Post wires

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