



China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said that a Covid-19 vaccine could be ready for “emergency use” by as early as September.





“Maybe by September, we might have a vaccine to be used for emergency,” CDC director Gao Fu told CGTN on Thursday.





“For example, if we have some emergency outbreak again, [even if a] vaccine is still under phase two or phase three clinical trials, it can be used for some special groups. For example, health care workers.”





Gao predicted that a vaccine might be ready for regular use early next year.







He went on to reveal that China currently has two vaccine candidates undergoing clinical trials: one an adenovirus vector vaccine and the other an inactivated vaccine.







Earlier in the interview, Gao stressed that it must be ensured that the approved vaccine is both safe and effective. “You don’t want the word ‘maybe,'” he said.







There are at least 70 coronavirus vaccines in development around the world.





Anthony Fauci, the expert leading the US response to the coronavirus, has predicted that it will take 12 to 18 months for a vaccine to be ready for public use







However, some experts have found even that estimate optimistic, noting that a typical vaccine takes between eight and 10 years to develop.




























