Scientists at Oxford University have launched the first phase of an experimental administration of a new Covid-19 vaccine to two people to find out its ability to provide immunity without harming health. All in all, about 1,100 people will be involved in the trials.
The vaccine was developed in a minimal amount of time based on the results of a chimpanzee whose genetic code had the virus added. Normally, it takes about 5 years from the time the vaccine is invented to experiments with humans. This time, the entire process took about 3.5 months.
If all goes according to the scientists' plan, they will be able to say in early fall about the drug's effectiveness. According to the developers, their confidence in success is about 80%, so they are ready to begin releasing the drug before testing is complete. About 1 million vaccines could be produced by September.
The government has allocated $2.7 million for the research work. In total, the British authorities are willing to provide $310 million in funding to 27 projects that deal with the coronavirus.
The WHO reports that 70 possible vaccines against Covid-19 are currently under development worldwide.
Source: ox.ac.uk
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