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More than 100 potential COVID-19 vaccines are being developed, including several in clinical trials. The WHO said in April that a vaccine would take at least 12 months.
GENEVA – The World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday that some treatments appear to be limiting the severity or duration of COVID-19 disease and that it was focusing on learning more about four or five of the most promising.
The Geneva-based WHO is leading a global initiative to develop safe and effective vaccines, tests and drugs to prevent, diagnose and treat COVID-19. Respiratory disease has infected 4.19 million people worldwide, according to a Reuters count.
“We have some treatments that appear to be in very early studies that limit the severity or duration of the disease, but we have nothing that can kill or stop the virus,” spokeswoman Margaret Harris said in a briefing, referring to the disease. Body. called Solidarity Trial of drugs against the disease.
“We have potentially positive data, but we need to see more data to be 100% sure we can tell this treatment on that one,” he added, saying more research was needed and that it was planned.
Harris did not mention the treatments. Gilead Science Inc says its antiviral medication remdesivir has helped improve outcomes for COVID-19 patients.
The WHO official issued a cautionary note about expectations for a vaccine, however, said coronaviruses, in general, are “very difficult viruses” that are “difficult to produce vaccines.”
More than 100 potential COVID-19 vaccines are being developed, including several in clinical trials. The WHO said in April that a vaccine would take at least 12 months.
Harris said the Americas were the current “center” of the pandemic, although he also observed growing cases in Africa. However, he said the continent had a “great advantage” over other countries with little experience in infectious disease outbreaks.
“They often have a very good contact tracing infrastructure and a deep, deep, deep memory and understanding of why we take a new pathogen very, very seriously,” he said, pointing to South Africa for its effective testing and contact tracing.
When asked about the reasons for the large number of cases in the United States and Brazil, Harris said: “Throughout the world, we have seen that the warnings we issued from the beginning, very, very early, were not seen as warnings about serious and lethal disease. “
She reiterated that the WHO, which has been especially criticized by the United States for its handling of the pandemic, would conduct a “post-action” review that would include a “free and frank” discussion of its performance.
United States President Donald Trump is working to reopen the economy quickly against recommendations by health experts to act cautiously to avoid a resurgence of the virus that has so far killed more than 80,000 people in the United States, the highest death toll in the world. He said he acted early to prevent the spread of the disease.
Brazil has registered a total of 168,331 confirmed cases of the virus and 11,519 deaths, the deadliest outbreak in an emerging nation.
The greatest threat to Brazil’s ability to combat the spread of the coronavirus is President Jair Bolsonaro, according to the British medical journal. The lancet.
In an editorial, the Lancet He said his contempt and noncompliance with the blockade measures was sowing confusion throughout Brazil. Bolsonaro’s press office declined to comment on the Lancet editorial.
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