A coronavirus vaccine may come in a matter of months just as about mkmnnn persons have died of the virus globally.
According to a British media report on Saturday, AstraZeneca and Oxford University jointly-developed COVID-19 vaccine may be rolled out in six months.
The vaccine, which is currently under the last phase of trial, may be given a clearance by health regulators in December.
The Times quoted UK government sources involved in the making and distribution of vaccines as saying that a full vaccine roll-out programme for adults could take six months or less after approval.
“We are looking at closer to six months and it is likely to be far shorter than that,” a government source said.
In line with a protocol developed by the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, any approved vaccine will then be given to all over 65s, followed by younger adults at higher risk, which could include those from ethnic minorities as well as those with serious health issues based on their higher risk from the deadly virus.
Next in line will be people over 50, with younger adults at the back of the queue.
The UK government has ordered 100 million doses of the Oxford vaccine once it is ready for roll-out and the doses are being manufactured before it has been shown to be successful in order to save time once it clears all the regulatory stages, British media reported.