"There might be a million doses fabricated by September: that today looks like a remarkable underestimate, given the scale of what's happening," Adrian Hill of University of Oxford said, speaking to the manufacturing capacity of partner AstraZeneca.

"Surely there'll be a million doses round in September. What's less predictable compared to the production scale-up is that the incidence of disease, so when there will be an endpoint."

He added it was possible that there would be vaccines available at the end of the year.

N-95 masks with breathing valves don't prevent COVID-19 spread, says health ministry
N-95 masks with valved respirators don't help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, a health ministry expert has said.

In a letter dated July 20 and addressed to health authorities concerned in most states and UTs, he said:"The use of valved respirator N-95 masks is detrimental to the measures adopted for preventing the spread of coronavirus as it doesn't stop the virus from escaping from the mask"

The letter further urged the government to revisit that the advisory issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare concerning the usage of homemade protective cap for the face and mouth, which will be available on the ministry's site.

The states and UTs have been directed to take necessary steps to prevent inappropriate use of N-95 masks.

Especially, valved respirator masks with gaskets are effective in protecting the wearer from pathogens suspended in the atmosphere but don't stop the virus from spreading from an infected person wearing it for his or her immediate environment. These masks have a plastic gasket embedded in the cloth, which is fundamentally a one-way valve. This means that it filters out pathogens from the air that you breathe in, but opens up while exhaling, letting the pathogen escape the mask.