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.

“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.