When will a vaccine be ready?

To date, there are no drugs that can kill the coronavirus or vaccines that can protect against it. Research is happening at breakneck speed, and there are more than 20 vaccines currently in development. Australian scientists have begun injecting ferrets with two potential vaccines, and the researchers say they hope to move to the human testing stage by the end of April. Tests like these are taking place much quicker than would normally be the case, and some are using new approaches to vaccines. It follows that there are no guarantees everything will go smoothly. But even if these - or any other tests - do prove successful, it's not expected that manufacturers will be able to produce a mass-produced vaccine until the second half of 2021. If a vaccine is developed then there will be a limited supply, at least in the early stages, so it will be important to prioritise.