WHO officials say at least 20 corona virus vaccines are in development in global race for cure

KEY POINTS:

1. Any vaccine for the coronavirus would have to made available to everyone, not just the "haves," WHO officials said. 
2. WHO officials noted that the race for a vaccine has made remarkable progress as the first human trials have started only eight weeks into development.
3. The virus has infected more than 245,000 people worldwide and killed more than 10,000 as of Friday afternoon.

The World Health Organization is working with scientists across the globe on at least 20 different coronavirus vaccines with some already in clinical trials in record time — just 60 days after sequencing the gene.

"The acceleration of this process is really truly dramatic in terms of what we're able to do, building on work that started with SARS, that started with MERS and now is being used for COVID-19 ," Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, the technical lead for WHO's emergencies program, said at a press conference at the organization's headquarters in Geneva on Friday.

The vaccines are still a long way away from being available for public use, WHO officials cautioned. Leading scientists say the clinical trials and safety approvals needed to get a workable vaccine to market could take up to 18 months.