China could have Covid-19 vaccine ‘ready for public use early next year’

Three vaccines developed by Chinese companies and researchers are in their second or third phase of trials. - Reuters

China may have a vaccine against the deadly Covid-19 for emergency use by September and for the general public early next year, a top Chinese public health expert has said.

This is the first time a Chinese official has put an estimate on the timescale for development of a coronavirus vaccine, believed to be the key to containing the global pandemic. The US Food and Drug Administration believes a vaccine in the United States could be at least a year away, and the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that it could take 12 to 18 months.