Seven or eight ‘top’ COVID-19 vaccine candidates vie for approval —WHO

There are approximately seven or eight “top” candidates for a vaccine to combat the coronavirus, and work on them is being accelerated, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.

This was revealed on Monday by WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus during a UN Economic and Social Council video briefing on efforts to find a vaccine for the deadly disease.

According to Tedros, WHO had been helped by the 7.4 billion euros ($8 billion) pledged a week ago by leaders from 40 countries, organisations and banks for research, treatment and testing but also added that more funds would be needed.

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“We have good candidates now,” Tedros said. “The top ones are around seven, eight. But we have more than a hundred candidates.”

“We are focusing on the few candidates we have which can bring probably better results and accelerating those candidates with better potential,” he added.

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