Leaders begin pledging funds for vaccine research

World leaders on Monday began pledging billions of euros for research into a vaccine against the new coronavirus, but warned that it is just the start of an effort that must be sustained over time to beat the disease.

At a video-conference summit, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that a 7.5 billion euros ($8.2 billion) target being sought to help find a vaccine, new treatments and better tests for the disease would be merely a "down-payment" on the tools that will be needed to fight the virus.

Just over an hour into the summit, some 5 billion euros had been pledged, according to a European Commission tally.

Governments have reported around 3.5 million infections and more than 247,000 deaths from the virus, according to a count by Johns Hopkins University.

But deliberately concealed outbreaks, low testing rates and the strain on health care systems mean the true scale of the pandemic is much greater.

The United States, where more than 67,000 people have died, was a notable absentee, as was Russia.

About 100 research groups are pursuing vaccines, with nearly a dozen in early stages of human trials or poised to start.

But so far there's no way to predict which — if any — vaccine will work safely, or even to name a front-runner.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government's top expert, has cautioned that even if everything goes perfectly, developing a vaccine in 12 to 18 months would set a record for speed.

Even if a first useful vaccine is identified, there won't be enough for everyone initially.

EU officials say that pledges made toward vaccine research since Jan. 30, not just on Monday, will be counted as donations toward the 7.5 billion euro ($8.2 billion) target of the conference.