MOSCOW, April 22. /TASS/. Creating a readily available vaccine for the coronavirus will take months, the World Health Organization's representative in Russia Melita Vujnovic said in an interview with TASS.

"Intensive efforts to create a vaccine for the coronavirus are underway at dozens of research centers across the globe, including in Russia. Work continues on than 70 vaccine options and at least 20 options are being considered for preclinical and clinical trials," she pointed out. "Nevertheless, clinical trials may take much time because there is a need to make sure that the new vaccine is safe and effective. This is why it will be a long time before the vaccine becomes available to people across the world," Vujnovic added.

All 193 member states of the United Nations General Assembly earlier unanimously supported a resolution calling for preventing speculations concerning the future vaccine for the coronavirus and ensuring general access to medicines and protective equipment. The resolution also emphasized the World Health Organization’s key role in the fight against the pandemic.

Coronavirus pandemic

In late December 2019, Chinese officials notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, in central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus - named COVID-19 by the WHO - have been reported in every corner of the globe, including Russia.

On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. According to the latest statistics, over 2,500,000 people have been infected worldwide and more than 175,000 deaths have been reported.

To date, a total of 52,763 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 3,873 patients having recovered from the virus. Russia’s latest data indicates 456 fatalities nationwide. Earlier, the Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public updated on the coronavirus situation.