BATTLE FOR WORLD | March 18, 2020: According to experts, to develop a vaccine takes about 18 months after analyzing the strain, and some have called into question the hasty feat of developing a vaccine in weeks for trial testing.

Among the frontrunners developing and testing vaccines for the novel coronavirus include China’s CanSino Biologics and Massachusetts-based Moderna Therapeutics, to be joined by a long list of biopharma companies developing vaccine treatments.

The Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of the World Health Organization announced on Twitter that vaccine trial was launched about 60 days after the genetic sequence of the coronavirus was shared and hoped that the first trial of a vaccine, might help deal with the crisis. That the process was initiated about two months after the generic sequence of the pathogen was shared and described the vaccine development as an "incredible achievement".

"Multiple small trials with different methods may not give us the clear, strong evidence we need about which treatments help to save lives", Dr. Tedros said. And revealed that WHO launched a large international study called "the Solidarity trial", with the goal to determine which treatments are the most effective.

Countries around the world continue to combat and take precautions in the ongoing global pandemic of the coronavirus (COVID-19), said the head of the World Health Organization.

WHO noted that countries confirmed to join the vaccine treatment initiative include Argentina, Bahrain, Canada, France, Iran, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and Thailand, and has expressed hope that other countries may join in the testing.

CanSino pre-clinical testing showed results that the vaccine can induce a strong immune response in animal models, with a good safety profile. While in the U.S. amid growing numbers of infections, the FDA has allowed a phase 1 study of Moderna’s mRNA vaccine without animal testing data*. And on Monday (March 16), the biotech company said U.S. researchers at the National Institutes of Health has already dosed the first subject with the an experimental coronavirus vaccine Monday, leading off the search for protection as the pandemic surges.

Professor of Virology Shibo Jiang at the Shanghai University of Fudan and the New York Blood Center, has warned that the search for a vaccine shouldn't be rushed and that all the proper safety protocols should be observed during that research process. And wrote in Nature magazine that "It's essential that we work as hard and fast as possible to develop drugs and vaccines that are widely available across the world." "But it is important not to cut corners."

(BattleForWorld: If this coronavirus event was staged, a vaccine was already developed and in waiting. *If their animal testing data exists, if presented, could call into question their vaccine development timeline, suggesting that the vaccine may have been developed before the coronavirus outbreak.)

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