The United Kingdom will begin human trials of the coronavirus vaccine developed by Oxford University on Thursday. Announcing the development, UK Secretary of State for Health Matt Hancock said that the country has put the more money in developing coronavirus vaccine than any other country.
He said that the government would provide 20 million pounds to the university and a further 22.5 million pound to Imperial College, where a group of scientists are also working on a vaccine.
The vaccine developed by Oxford’s Jenner Institute is named chimpanzee adenovirus vaccine vector (ChAdOx1). The Oxford university website says that the vaccine was chosen as the most suitable for a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine as it can generate a strong immune response from one dose and it is not a replicating virus. All these made the vaccine safer to children, elderly and anyone with a pre-existing condition such as diabetes. It said that Chimpanzee adenoviral vectors were well-studied vaccine type.
Praising the team for developing the vaccine, Hancock said that the government would provide all assistance and back them to the hilt. He also said that they would provide all resources for the success. However, he said that vaccine development was a long process of trial and error and trial again.
The Jenner Institute and Oxford Vaccine Group began the research on coronavirus in February.
