Taiwn News
Date: 2020/02/07
By:  Central News Agency

1Taiwan's National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) said Friday it is working "night and day" to develop a vaccine against the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) but said a market-ready product would likely come too late for use in the current outbreak.

The government-funded research body said in a statement that it was simultaneously proceeding with research into four types of vaccines, one of which could produce results within two to three months.

Following the announcement, NHRI Chairman Lin Tzou-yien (林奏延) said researchers are aiming to create a vaccine that produces a high level of immunity against the coronavirus in rats within two months, before beginning clinical trials within six months.

Liao Ching-len (廖經倫), the director of the NHRI's Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, said in an interview, however, that as genome sequencing of the virus had only recently been completed, it was still too early to discuss how effective a possible vaccine might be.    [FULL  STORY]