COVID-19 VACCINE TRIAL: UK injects first two patients

The first human trial of the novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccine has begun in Europe.

Two volunteers were injected in Oxford out of more than 800 people recruited for the study, according to a BBC report.

Elisa Granato (pictured above), a scientist, was the first volunteer to be injected and she said she volunteered because she wanted to try to support the scientific process.

The report said half of those who volunteered would receive the Covid-19 vaccine, and half a control vaccine which protects against meningitis but not coronavirus.

It said the design of the trial was that volunteers would not know which vaccine they would be getting, but that doctors would.

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.

“Personally I have a high degree of confidence in this vaccine,” she said.

“Of course, we have to test it and get data from humans. We have to demonstrate it actually works and stops people getting infected with coronavirus before using the vaccine in the wider population,” she added.

READ ALSO: Trump suggests injecting disinfectant to fight covid-19, as country’s death toll tops 50,000

The Coronavirus vaccine is made from a weakened version of a common cold virus (known as an adenovirus) from chimpanzees that had been modified so it cannot grow in humans, according to the report.

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