US officials briefed senators yesterday on coronavirus and said a vaccine was at least 12 to 18 months away, according to three senators present.

After the meeting, when reporters asked if we are close to a vaccine, Sen. Roy Blunt said: “We will not have a vaccine in the next 12 or 18 months.”

Meanwhile, US biotech firm Moderna has shipped an experimental coronavirus vaccine to US government researchers just six weeks after it started working on the immunization.

Initial trials of the potential vaccine could begin in April — but the process of testing and approvals would last at least a year.