Coronavirus: Oxford University set to begin human trials of Covid-19 vaccine – The Independent

Oxford Universityscientistsare to begin human trialsof a potentialcoronavirusvaccine next week.

Researchers said the jab could be ready to be rolled out for emergency use by the autumn followingsignificant progress in the early stages of development.

The Oxford team has tested the vaccine successfully on several animal species.

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TheWorld HealthOrganisation(WHO) has reported that more than 70 vaccines are being developed globally for Covid-19, which has infected morethantwo million people and killed128,886 across the world.

However, experts have cautioned it could take at least18 months to fully develop a jab that can be made available to millions people.

The Oxford teamjoin three other groups of researchers two in the United States and one in China in beginningtrialson humans.

Their projecthasrecruited 510 people, ranging from18 to 55 years old, to take part in the trials, said lead researcherProfessor Adrian Hill.

We are going into human trials next week. We have tested the vaccine in several different animal species, he added.

We have taken a fairly cautious approach, but a rapid one to assess the vaccine that we are developing.

Professor Sarah Gilbert, a vaccinologistat Oxford, has said she is80 per cent confident it will be a success.

There is now hope that thejab, developed by the clinical teams at the Jenner Institute and Oxford Vaccine Group, couldbe ready from as early asSeptember.

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However, Professor Hill saidthe team must continue to increase fundraising in order toaccelerate development.

Were a university, we have a very small in house manufacturing facility that can do dozens of doses. Thats not good enough to supply the world, obviously, he told the BBC World Service.

We are working with manufacturing organisations and paying them to start the process now.

So by the time July, August, September comes whenever this is looking good we should have the vaccine to start deploying under emergency use recommendations.

Thats a different approval process to commercial supply, which often takes many more years.

There is no point in making a vaccine that you cant scale up and may only get 100,000 doses for after a huge amount of investment.

You need a technology that allows you to make not millions but ideally billions of doses over a year.

The UKs chief scientific adviser Sir PatrickVallancehas saidit would be very lucky if acoronavirus vaccine was widely available within a year.

Sir Patrick told ITV:A vaccine that can be used generally wed be very lucky to get one within a year.

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Coronavirus: Oxford University set to begin human trials of Covid-19 vaccine - The Independent