UK: COVID-19 Vaccine Begins First Human Trials

Two volunteers received a vaccine to treat the new coronavirus in the United Kingdom on Thursday, which is currently undergoing clinical trials.

This is the first clinical trial of a COVID-19 vaccine in Europe, UK scientists say.

The drug was developed at the University of Oxford, and to know its effectiveness, an experiment will be carried out with the participation of 800 people.

During the experiment, 400 people will be vaccinated with the new drug, while the other half of the volunteers will be injected with a vaccine against meningitis.

For this clinical trial, the Oxford University team will receive £20 million (about $24.5 million USD) from the government.

Researchers at Imperial College London will also receive monetary support, amounting to £22.5 million (about $27.6 million USD).

"If effective, the inoculation could be ready for use by September," University immunization professor Sarah Gilbert announced.

Several countries are focusing their efforts on developing an effective vaccine to slow the spread of COVID-19 around the world.

These include Russia, China, the United States and many others.

Last week, the World Health Organization announced that three vaccines were already in human trials and 70 others were in development.