Coronavirus vaccine wont be ready for another year and will miss first wave of bug, top doc warns – The Irish Sun

A CORONAVIRUS vaccine won't be ready for another year - and will miss the 'first wave' of the bug, Britain's top doctor has warned.

Professor Chris Whitty said it would be "lucky" to get a booster for Covid-19 in 2020, though existing drugs could play a role.

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And the Chief Medical Officer added that even if we did get a vaccine for the deadly bug it would "not get us out of a hole now."

He said: "I think ... a year would be lucky to get this - so we will not have a vaccine available for the first wave if we have a first wave."

Despite this, Prof Whitty said other existing treatments may work in high-risk groups although they would not be "perfect".

Prof Whitty made the revelation while being grilled by MPs by the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee on Covid-19.

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Health Secretary Matt Hancock also admitted that a vaccine to treat the deadly bug was months away.

It comes after scientists at a genetic engineering company in Texas last month claimed they had finished developing the first coronavirus vaccine.

However, they admitted it could still be two years before the vaccine is available to use as it now needs to be tested in animal experiments before human trials can begin.

Chinese doctors are also stepping up their efforts to develop a vaccine as soon as possible.

Health chiefs are relying on the summer to mitigate an outbreak in Britain, and hope that Chinese efforts will delay the spread until the weather warms up.

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They hope that coronavirus will behave like flu, which spreads far more slowly during the summer, buying time to develop a vaccine in case it returns next winter.

"Sunlight kills viruses quickly. Sars pretty much died in July and August [2003] and it's quite plausible we'll see that here," Professor Paul Hunter, of the University of East Anglia, said.

"In summer schools are closed and people are also out of doors more. If you're walking around in the sunshine you are much less likely to spread infection than if you're cramped up together to keep warm indoors."

The number of cases of Covid-19 in the UK has surged to 90 today - with three new cases confirmed in Scotland.

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Health bosses say the best way to protect yourself is to wash your hands with soap and water for the time it takes to sing Happy Birthday twice.

Happy Birthday takes about 20 seconds to sing twice and is said to be the perfect number to clean your hands to thoroughly.

You should also not touch your eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands and avoid close contact with people who are sick.

Cleaning and disinfecting objects and surfaces which you may have touched is also important.

Dr Daniel Atkinson, clinical lead atTreated.com, said: "Hygiene is incredibly important to ward off any viruses.

What to do if you're worried you've got coronavirus

The new coronavirus is continuing to sweep its way across the globe with Britain seeing more cases in people who aren't linked to outbreaks overseas.

Symptoms of Covid-19 can include:

In most cases, you won't know whether you have a coronavirus or a different cold-causing virus.

But if a coronavirus infection spreads to the lower respiratory tract, it can cause pneumonia, especially in older people, people with heart disease or people with weakened immune systems.

It is incredibly contagious and is spread through contact with anything the virus is on as well as infected breath, coughs or sneezes.

The best way to prevent catching any form of coronavirus is to practice good hygiene.

If you have cold-like symptoms, you can help protect others by staying home when you are sick and avoiding contact with others.

You should also cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough and sneeze then throw it away and wash your hands.

Cleaning and disinfecting objects and surfaces which you may have touched is also important.

Meanwhile, leading symptom-checking provider to the NHSDoctorlinkhas been updated to help identify patients' risk of having coronavirus.

Source: NHS

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"Make sure to wash your hands thoroughly - for at least 20 seconds - and cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze.

"If you can, avoid contact with sick people and avoid shaking hands with anyone displaying flu-like symptoms."

Globally, there are currently over 96,000 cases of coronavirus and more than 3,000 deaths from the bug worldwide.

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Coronavirus vaccine wont be ready for another year and will miss first wave of bug, top doc warns - The Irish Sun