Over 20 coronavirus vaccines in development globally, WHO head says

More than 20 vaccines are being developed across the world, and the first results are expected in a few weeks, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a briefing on Friday.

"More than 20 vaccines are in development globally, and several therapeutics are in clinical trials," he said adding that the first results were expected "in a few weeks."

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) is concerned about the "risk of spread and the risk of impact of COVID-19" assessing it as "very high at a global level." The WHO earlier assessed this level as "high".

"We do not see evidence as yet that the virus is spreading freely in communities," he said adding that "we still have a chance of containing this coronavirus."

In late December 2019, a pneumonia outbreak caused by the COVID-19 virus (previously known as 2019-nCoV) was reported in China’s city of Wuhan, an economic and industrial megacity with a population of 12 million. The World Health Organization declared the new coronavirus outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, characterizing it as an epidemic with multiple locations. Apart from China, 52 other countries, including Russia, have reported confirmed coronavirus cases. According to the latest reports, China has confirmed over 78,800 cases of patients infected with the novel coronavirus. The virus’ death toll has hit 2,788, yet more than 36,100 patients have recovered from the disease.