Scientists in Britain have began clinical trials of a potential COVID-19 vaccine, as other vaccine developers across Europe also stepped up work on experimental shots against the disease caused by the new coronavirus.
As many as 100 potential COVID-19 candidate vaccines are now under development by biotech and research teams around the world, and at least five of these are in preliminary testing in people in what are known as Phase 1 clinical trials.
Oxford scientists said last week that large-scale production capacity was being put in place to make millions of doses of the shot, even before trials show whether it is effective.
The race for a vaccine has been fuelled by the shortage of options for treating the disease.
The European Union’s drug regulator had warned against using two older malaria drugs outside of trials or national emergency use programmes, citing potentially lethal side effects.
