Although many companies and institutions have announced initiatives to kick development and research into high-gear, human clinical trials for Zika vaccines are likely at least 18 months away, according to a Wednesday statement from World Health Organization assistant director general Marie-Paule Kieny, MD.
While more than 15 organizations are working on a vaccine, it may be that the availability of one may come too late to stem the current outbreak, Dr. Kieny said, according to The New York Times. A researcher from the Butantan Institute in Brazil who also spoke at the Geneva conference said that the timeline for a viable vaccine to be distributed could easily be as long as three years.
Additionally, Dr. Kieny said the link between Zika and Guillian-Barré Syndrome, an autoimmune disease that can cause paralysis and is in some instances fatal, is highly probable. Definitive evidence of this link could appear within the next few weeks.