The World Health Organisation (WHO) said that a few hundred million Covid-19 vaccine doses could be produced by the end of the year — and be targeted at those most vulnerable to the virus, according to AFP.

The UN health agency said it was working on that assumption, with a view to two billion doses by the end of 2021, as pharmaceutical firms rush to find a vaccine.

WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said researchers were working on more than 200 vaccine candidates around the world, including 10 that are in human testing.

“If we're very lucky, there will be one or two successful candidates before the end of this year,” she told a virtual press conference.