Countries across the globe have been scrambling to find a cure as Covid-19 continues to wreak havoc on the lives of many.

Currently, there is no single treatment for the virus, and estimates vary for the time it will take to develop a vaccine.

British drugmaker pledges to prepare and distribute one billion doses of vaccine worldwide

If clinical trials do succeed, however, British drugmaker AstraZeneca has pledged to prepare and distribute one billion doses of the Covid-19 vaccine worldwide, Reuters reports.

The vaccine, which is in its first and second phases of clinical testing, was developed by the University of Oxford and licensed to AstraZeneca.

It works by helping the human body recognise and develop an immune response to a protein from the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This will stop the protein from entering human cells, thereby preventing an infection.

According to Reuters, 30,000 people in the United States will undergo a late-stage clinical trial of the vaccine as part of a deal that the U.S. government has made with AstraZeneca.

The deal also sees the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) provide AstraZeneca with up to $1.2 billion to fund the vaccine development, and secure 300 million doses of the vaccine for the U.S.

Despite uncertainty of its immunity to the new coronavirus, AstraZeneca has already taken in orders for at least 400 million doses of the vaccine.

They have also secured manufacturing capacity for one billion doses which will be delivered from September this year.

While there have been fears that richer countries will have prioritised access to the vaccines, AstraZeneca claims that it has been "speaking to various organisations on fair allocation and distribution", Reuters reports.

Singapore to remain in phase 3 until a vaccine is developed

On May 19, the Covid-19 Multi-Ministry Taskforce in Singapore announced that Singapore would gradually re-open in three phases after the Circuit Breaker ends on June 1.

Phase 1 is expected to last minimally four weeks, or possibly longer.

Phase 2 is expected to take months, while there is no time limit at Phase 3.

Singapore shall also remain in Phase 3 until an effective vaccine or treatment for Covid-19 is developed.

Top image via National Cancer Institute on Unsplash