Coronavirus: ‘Scientists in the UK to begin testing vaccine on humans this week’
The UK has announced it is ready to begin human trials for a potential vaccine for coronavirus, with tests beginning as early as this week.
The UK has announced it is ready to begin human trials for a potential vaccine for coronavirus, with tests beginning as early as this week.
Health minister Matt Hancock announced testing on humans would begin on Thursday and would join just a handful of other similar trials being carried out around the world.
He said the drug, which has been named ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, had been developed by scientists at the University of Oxford and is reported to have an 80 per cent success rate.
It was created by using a chimpanzee virus, before genetically engineering it to carry COVID-19.
Speaking at the press conference, Hancock said it remained “uncertain science” and that “in normal times, reaching this stage would take years”.
He added: “At the same time, we’ll invest in manufacturing capability, so that if either of these vaccines safely works, then we can make it available for the British people as soon as humanly possible.”
There are currently more than 30 companies around the world racing to develop a vaccine for the illness, which has killed tens of thousands of people.
