The Conversation: Here’s why the WHO says a coronavirus vaccine is 18 months away
Rob Grenfell, director of health and biosecurity at CSIRO, and Trevor Drew, director of the Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL) at CSIRO

“The World Health Organisation said this week it may be 18 months before a vaccine against the coronavirus is publicly available. … Vaccines have historically taken two to five years to develop. But with a global effort, and learning from past efforts to develop coronavirus vaccines, researchers could potentially develop a vaccine in a much shorter time. … All this work needs to be done under stringent quality and safety conditions, to ensure it meets global legislative requirements, and to ensure staff and the wider community are safe. … Developing a vaccine is a huge task and not something that can happen overnight. But if things go to plan, it will be much faster than we’ve seen before…” (2/13).