COVID-19: Global health experts warn a life-saving coronavirus vaccine is still years away

Rachel Grant, the director of communications and advocacy at the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), said in a statement to ABC News Friday that the organization was working with partners to deliver a vaccine for broader use within the next 12 to 18 months. The Norwegian association, which has an ongoing relationship with NIAID, has so far provided funding to Moderna, Inc. for the manufacturing of vaccine materials that will be used in the Phase 1 trials run by NIAID. “Of course, there are no guarantees of success,” Grant said. “Even to propose such a timeline at this point must be regarded as hugely aspirational.”

The new coronavirus has now spread to nearly 30 countries, most recently with a worrying surge in South Korea where the number of confirmed cases multiplied in days. The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Africa was announced last week in Egypt, raising concerns that the world may be moving closer to the verge of a pandemic.

“You could find yourself where you have a vaccine candidate in a year and half, a year and three quarters, but it takes another year to scale up to get enough doses to be meaningful to anyone,” Fauci said. Although the WHO has not yet designated the COVID-19 outbreak as a global pandemic, that may soon change. In a press briefing on Friday, WHO officials warned that time was running out to contain the COVID-19 outbreak.  –ABC News