WHO Expects a COVID-19 Vaccine Before the End of the Year

World Health Organization (WHO) Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus Tuesday expressed his hope that a vaccine against COVID-19 would be ready by the end of this year.

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Ghebreyesus said that while the world waits for the vaccine, it is important to use the tools that are currently available to prevent contagious. Among them are are hygiene measures, treatments, quick diagnosis, and contact tracing.

He added that many countries have shown they can suppress and control the pandemic with these tools and fostered the governments to invest in new technologies to speed up the process of creating the vaccine.

The WHO director urged countries to work together to fight the disease, saying the most important factor in finding a vaccine is the political commitment from the world’s leaders.

China is in talks with the WHO to have its locally-produced COVID-19 vaccines assessed by the global health institution, as a step toward making them available for international use.

The European Medicines Agency has started a rolling review process for the COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca to accelerate any eventual approval.

Last week, AstraZeneca's laboratory announced its approval process could also speed up, and that it has already signed a deal for up to 400 million doses of its vaccine.

WHO's Health Emergencies Director Mike Ryan informed that about 10 percent of the world's population may have contracted the virus, which would represent over 700 million people.