SPRINT TO THE FINISH

Scientists are racing to create the first widely approved vaccine. Who’ll be first?

At the time of writing, the WHO records 156 candidate vaccines at the pre-clinical stage

More than 40 are currently undergoing clinical evaluation

Some of these are in Phase 2 trials, focused on safety, dosage and immune response

Nine are in Phase 3, a wider trial often involving thousands of volunteers in a broader age range, to check how the vaccine works in the real world