WHO: Vaccine at least 12 months off

The number of new coronavirus cases is steadily decreasing in certain European countries, including Italy and Spain, but outbreaks in the UK and Turkey are continuing to mark upward trends, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.

“In the entire global outbreak, 90% of cases stem from Europe and the United States of America. So we are certainly not seeing the peak yet,” WHO spokesperson Dr Margaret Harris told a briefing in Geneva.

Dr Harris noted that later on Tuesday the WHO will be issuing guidelines consisting of six points that Member States need to be sure they have covered before loosening restriction measures.

“The most important one is, is your transmission controlled?” Dr Harris said.

She noted that China still faces a dire threat of imported cases, with Russia becoming China’s largest source as a total of 409 cases were found to have originated in the northern neighbour.

On vaccines, Harris stressed that “we really shouldn’t be expecting to see the vaccine for at least 12 months or longer.”