A man wearing a mask walks along a street in Ashton-under-Lyne in England, UK on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

The European Union expressed hope Wednesday that it could start vaccinating people against the novel coronavirus as early as 2021, as Italy recorded more than 1 million cases and Britain said its death toll has surpassed the 50,000 mark.

The head of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Andrea Ammon, told AFP that a vaccination program could be kicked off "optimistically [in the] first quarter next year, but I can't be more precise," as trials in both the US and Russia suggested that vaccines currently in the final stages of testing were so far proving very effective. 

A vaccine is seen as the best chance to break the cycle of deadly virus surges and severe restrictions across much of the world since COVID-19 first emerged in late 2019. 

The announcement by US pharma giant Pfizer on Monday that a vaccine it is developing with Germany's BioNTech is 90 percent effective has sparked a wave of optimism across the globe that the pandemic might soon be brought under control.

And the news Wednesday that Russia's own Sputnik V vaccine was 92 percent effective fueled another rally on the world's stock markets.

Several countries and foundations are set to pledge more than $500 million Thursday for a global pool aimed at ensuring equitable access to coronavirus tests, treatment and vaccines for all nations, organizers of the third edition of the Paris Peace Forum held on Thursday and Friday said.

Nevertheless, the small glimmer of hope is not yet enough to eclipse the grim statistics still being recorded all across the globe. 

In Italy, the number of confirmed novel coronavirus cases passed the symbolic 1 million mark, while almost 43,000 people have died, according to official data.

In Britain, the death toll topped 50,000 after another 595 fatalities recorded in the last 24 hours, government data showed.

AFP