Covid-19 vaccine: University of Oxford to begin human trials from today
Nagpur Updates:- Oxford University will begin human research with a Covid-19 vaccine they have developed since Thursday, the UK government said in a press conference about coronavirus.
The Oxford team – led by Professor Sarah Gilbert, is studying ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, a candidate based on a modified chimpanzee adenovirus that contains the spike or ‘S’ protein on the SARS-CoV-2 surface, the virus causing Covid-19.
The government has supported the vaccine project at Oxford University with 20 million pounds and another 22 million pounds to a second vaccine project at Imperial College, London, health secretary Matt Hancock said on Wednesday, adding the initiative would help finance phase 2 trials and help plan for a larger phase 3 test.
Hancock said a vaccine is the “best way” to defeat the virus and bring down the number of cases in the country. He said the UK government is committed to providing financial support to build vaccine production capacity if they prove to be effective in clinical trials.
