Virologist: Coronavirus vaccine could take about a year

Arriving passengers pass through thermal screening for signs of the novel coronavirus, at Suvarnabhumi airport. (Government House photo)

A leading clinical virologist says he is hopeful China will be able to produce a vaccine against the deadly new coronavirus within a year.

Dr Yong Poovorawan, head of the centre for excellence in clinical virology at Chulalongkorn University’s faculty of medicine, said on Wednesday that a vaccine for the coronavirus required time to research and develop.

“In six months, it’s impossible to produce a vaccine against the coronavirus. It takes a year to develop a vaccine.

"As for Thailand, we have no staff, no people who are experts in this field. But we expect that China will be able to develop a vaccine within one year," he said.

"The best we can do is to treat patients based on their symptoms and diagnosis,and develop examination methods which are rapid and accurate,’’ said Dr Yong, a senior research scholar of the Thailand Research Fund.

He said researchers from all fields must join hands and integrate their knowledge to help combat the spread of the deadly virus.