Coronavirus: UK government announces £46 million funding for vaccine

The Coronavirus epidemic is slowly gripping countries across the globe and people continue to struggle with it. Though 80 percent of the cases are less severe, but the fact remains that the virus still does not have a vaccine or a proposed treatment. However, the government of UK has now stepped up to take actions to develop a vaccine on an urgent basis. The government has promised to fund £46m for the urgent work of making a coronavirus vaccine and also develop a rapid test for the disease.

The work that has been funded by the government will include work on eight possible vaccines. The good part is that the vaccines in question are already under the process of development and more research is being conducted. The government will be supporting a lab in Bedford that will be working on developing a test that will be able to provide the results in 20 minutes. But that particular test might take at least six months to be actually applied on patients. It is expected to be similar to the pregnancy test.

The test will include either a sample of the saliva or just a prick of the blood. The lab in question is already known for creating tests that were made for other diseases like Ebola, measles and yellow fever. Some of the existing tests take about a couple of days for the results to be out and rely on the samples that are sent to the lab for analysis.

Some of the scientific advisers from the government have said that while the work on the vaccine is on it is very unlikely that the vaccine might be ready for the ongoing outbreak. Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited the Mologic lab in Bedfordshire where the scientists are making use of their expertise and experience from their earlier epidemics. Johnson said that he is ensuring that the country is prepared for the ongoing outbreak.

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