[ad_1]
Covid-19 vaccine: UK to start human trials this week
UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said tests of the coronavirus vaccine will begin in the country on Thursday this week.
He said the vaccine is being developed by scientists at the University of Oxford and they have stated that it has an 80% chance of success.
Hancock revealed in a daily briefing that the Oxford vaccine trial and the other at Imperial College London would fetch £ 20 million each from the government.
The team at the Jenner Institute in Oxford revealed that vaccine production is starting before the trial is complete and wants about a million doses to be ready for shipment in September.
Hancock stated that developing the vaccine is not rocket science, but said the two teams that were working on the vaccine were making rapid progress with more than enough support.
“At the same time, we will invest in manufacturing capacity, so if any one of these vaccines works safely, we can make it available to the British as soon as humanly possible.”
However, he warned that “nothing in the process is one hundred percent safe.
The vaccine developed by Oxford is called ChAdOx1 nCoV-19.
It was developed from a harmless chimpanzee virus that was genetically engineered to carry part of the coronavirus.
This technique has been shown to generate strong immune responses in other diseases.
Professor Sarah Gilbert, from the Jenner Institute team, confirmed to Sky News that she expected up to 500 people, It would be part of the trial in mid-May.
She said it is a randomized control trial and that half of the people will receive a different vaccine.
The United Kingdom is not the only country to test Covid-19 in humans. Last week, China announced that it had also started testing its vaccine, developed by a human biotechnology company.
China said it is currently developing 3 vaccines for the new coronavirus.
YOU MAY ALSO BE INTERESTED IN READING
Father and sister die of coronavirus, mom hospitalized as her family suffers horrible tragedy
Harare beats Bulawayo in Covid-19 cases as infections climb to 28
See: Shocking breach of confinement at Avondale Harare
“Everything is a lie”: Zimbabweans who returned from the UK talk about refusing quarantine at Teachers College
Everyone, including Zimbabwe, has been affected by the coronavirus. It’s new to all of us and one of the best ways to stay safe is to stay informed.
Consider sharing this link with your friends and family on WhatsApp so that they can not only be informed, but also know how to stay safe: wa.me/263718636522?text=Corona
Stay safe, stay home
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Dear invaluable iHarare reader. It is our pleasure to introduce our smart WhatsApp service that allows you to access the latest news, jobs and exchange rates on WhatsApp. Send a WhatsApp message with the word HIE to +263718636522 or alone CLICK HERE To prove it, iHarare has been transformed into a single integrated information window. Click on the red highlighted links to access iHarare’s News, Events, Jobs, Price Check, Classifieds, Dating and Education services. For any questions, contact us by CLICKING HERE.
