04/22/2020 - 11:58
- Clarín.com
- international
Scientists in the UK developing a second coronavirus vaccine will soon begin recruiting volunteers for clinical trials, which will begin in June.
A laboratory at Imperial College London plans to start human experiments in about six weeks and will follow in the footsteps of a project from the University of Oxford that will begin testing this Thursday, April 23.
While the Oxford vaccine will attempt to boost the immune system using a common cold virus taken from chimpanzees , researchers at Imperial College are using drops of liquid to transport the genetic material they need to enter the bloodstream.
Both will work, in theory, by recreating parts of the coronavirus within the patient and forcing his immune system to learn to fight it.
Matt Hancock, British Minister of Health. Photo: EFE.
British Health Minister Matt Hancock said Tuesday April 21 that his department was doing its best in the race to make Britain the first country in the world to make a coronavirus vaccine and pledged £ 44.5 million. additional funds for the two universities, Oxford and Imperial College.
Dr. Robin Shattock, head of the Imperial College research , said the first volunteers would be given low doses of the vaccine to assess their clinical safety.
London, a city heavily impacted by the coronavirus. Photo: AFP.
If proven not to cause significant side effects, he explained, the doses would be gradually increased until they reach the point where people receive enough to immunize against the coronavirus.
"There is absolutely no guarantee that they will work, " Shattock said, but the animal trials carried out since February were successful. "I think it's great that we have two different approaches (Oxford and Imperial)."
"Why is it good to have both approaches? There are so many risks of failure along the way." So having two tests increases the chances of having an effective vaccine in the UK.
The Oxford vaccine, known as ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, will be tested in up to 510 people out of a group of 1,112, all of whom will be between the ages of 18 and 55.
