Volunteers have begun being immunised with a new UK coronavirus vaccine, developed by Professor Robin Shattock and his colleagues, at Imperial College London.
About 300 people will have the vaccine over the coming weeks. The initial tests in animals suggest the vaccine is safe and triggers an effective immune response.
Experts at Oxford University have already started human trials.
The trials are among many across the world – there are around 120 vaccine programmes underway.
After this first phase, another trial is being planned for October, involving 6,000 people.
The Imperial team hopes the vaccine could be distributed in the UK and overseas from early 2021.
Prof Shattock said: “We’ve been able to produce a vaccine from scratch and take it to human trials in just a few months.
“If our approach works and the vaccine provides effective protection against disease, it could revolutionise how we respond to disease outbreaks in future.”
Chief investigator for the study, Dr Katrina Pollock, added: “I wouldn’t be working on this trial if I didn’t feel cautiously optimistic that we will see a great immune response in our participants.
“The pre-clinical data looked very promising. We’re getting a neutralising antibody response which is the immune response you would want to protect from infection. But there’s still a long way to go to evaluate this vaccine.”
The research has been funded by £41 million from the UK government, as well as £5 million of other donations.
BBC
