WHO Recognizes There Are 7 To 8 Favored COVID-19 Vaccine Candidates

JAKARTA - The world is still waiting for the discovery of a vaccine to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Two months ago, Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus, Director General of WHO, believed that a vaccine for COVID-19 could only be available in 12 to 18 months. But now he admits that accelerated steps are being made.

This acceleration was also possible due to assistance from the leaders of 40 countries, organizations and banks who contributed 7.4 billion Euros (8 billion US dollars), which is equivalent to more than Rp1.1 trillion.

Although he received assistance from various countries, Tedros admitted that the funds collected were not sufficient. Additional funds are still needed to accelerate vaccine development or, more importantly, ensure that the vaccines produced will be sufficient for the needs of all people in the world without exception.

Currently, he revealed that there are 7 to 8 vaccine candidates that are seeded from the hundreds they have. Since last January, more than 400 scientists and thousands of researchers around the world have worked hard to develop vaccines and diagnoses.

Unfortunately even though they are in the same organization, Dr. Mike Ryan, Executive Director of the WHO Health Emergencies Program is not as optimistic as Tedros. For him COVID-19 could be a long-term problem, but it could not. This virus may become another endemic virus that will never go away, such as HIV. Without intending to compare the two diseases, but he invites us to be realistic. No one can be sure when and whether this virus can disappear completely.

COVID-19 is not the first pandemic to strike the world. Call it the first generation SARS which first appeared in China in 2002. In fact, a vaccine for the first generation SARS was not invented until now, but the world is getting through. Quarantine is a way out, treatment and treatment for those who are infected. Since 2004 also not a single new case has been reported related to SARS.