Vaccine ‘at least a year away’

An expert on infectious diseases says a coronavirus vaccine is still at least 12 to 18 months away.

University of Otago professor David Murdoch has been an infectious disease expert for more than 20 years and was on the national vaccine committee for more than a decade.

Murdoch said the forecast timeframe ‘‘isn’t just a claim. This is the consensus of a lot of people working closely on this.’’

He said New Zealand was likely to have to wait even longer than the 12 to 18 months.

There were at least 35 vaccines being trialled, which was a fantastic step, Murdoch said.

However, there was a series of complexities around the manufacturing and supply of vaccines, as well as regulatory checks, quality control and a host of other boxes needed to be ticked before distribution, he said.

‘‘It’s worth remembering past vaccines have taken 10 to 15 years to make it onto the market.’’

Clinical trials had begun which was also promising, Murdoch said.

‘‘That shows early lab studies are going well – to be going to clinical trials already is a great step.’’

Once the vaccine was developed, there would be issues surrounding who manufactures it and where, who gets the vaccine first, as well as other complex issues, Murdoch said.

‘‘I don’t imagine little old New Zealand will be top of the list,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s important to note that this is not a normal situation and so normal vaccine distribution processes just won’t work in this case.

‘‘It all has to be figured out from scratch, there’s no blueprint to getting it right,’’ Murdoch said.

Director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield has assured the public he was already working ‘‘actively’’ on how New Zealand would access and distribute a Covid-19 vaccine.