Developing Covid-19 vaccine 'a very challenging process'

The head of medical affairs with a company that manufactures vaccines has warned that it is difficult to put a time frame on the development of a vaccine for Covid-19.

Jon Barbour, of GSK Ireland, told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland that developing a vaccine is a very challenging process and in some cases can take up to 10 years.

"The great challenge now is to come up with an effective vaccine in a shorter time. It was unprecedented that researchers, academics and the pharmaceutical industry around the world had come together to find a vaccine," he said.

This level of global cooperation was unprecedented.

“It’s a complex process with many working together”, he said.

Experts agreed that a time frame should not be put on such efforts, but “typically it could take 12-18 months.”

Mr Barbour also warned that as with the flu virus mutations were likely to happen.

Because this was a new virus there was no natural immunity in humans.

“All this is hypothetical,” he added.

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