Covid-19: First patients injected in United Kingdom vaccine trial

The first human trial of a coronavirus vaccine has begun in Oxford, United Kingdom. Clinical trials on humans were approved in Germany and have been launched in the UK. Though there are 150 development projects worldwide, the German and British plans are among only five clinical trials on humans that have been approved across the globe.

As per a BBC report, Two volunteers were injected, the first of more than 800 people recruited for the study. Half will receive the Covid-19 vaccine. The other half will receive a control vaccine that protects against meningitis but not coronavirus. The volunteers will not know which they have been administered.

NEWS: The first human trials for vaccines begin in the UK on Thursday. We’re giving the 2 leading UK vaccine teams at Oxford & Imperial all the support they need to make it happen pic.twitter.com/VGVwqyNpJ2

— Matt Hancock (@MattHancock) April 21, 2020

The vaccine was developed in under three months by a team at Oxford University. Sarah Gilbert, professor of vaccinology at the Jenner Institute, led the pre-clinical research. Scientists are giving it an 80 percent chance of success.

The vaccine is made from a weakened version of a common cold virus (known as an adenovirus) from chimpanzees that have been modified so it cannot grow in humans. The Oxford team has already developed a vaccine against MERS, another type of coronavirus. It had promising results in clinical trials.

The only way the team will know if the Covid-19 vaccine works is by comparing the number of people who get infected with coronavirus in the months ahead from the two arms of the trial. But there could be a problem if cases fall rapidly in the UK.

A larger trial, of about 5,000 volunteers, will start in the coming months and will have no age limit.

Also Read: COVID-19 Vaccine: Germany, UK To Begin Human Trials