COVID-19 vaccine trials to begin in Australia

Researchers and scientists across the globe are in a race to make a vaccine for the novel coronavirus or COVID-19 as it continues to spread across the continents and continues to claim lives. Novavax, a United States based biotechnology company is all set to begin human trials of a vaccine in Australia, with hopes that there would be a proven vaccine in 2020. The first phase of the clinical trial will begin with 131 volunteers in Brisbane and Melbourne.

The phase will determine the safety and effectiveness of it in the volunteers. Dr. Gregory Glenn, the company’s research chief said that they are currently in the process of making doses and are working on it. Glenn added that if things work as per plans then they will be able to deploy the vaccine by the end of 2020. Dr. Gregory was talking at a virtual press conference in Melbourne from the headquarters of the company in Maryland.

Meanwhile, a dozen of experimental vaccine is in early stages of testing or are about to begin testing. Most of them are in China, US and in Europe. Most of the vaccine in the working are bring made that would work towards the immune system that will recognize the spike protein that is able to beat the coronavirus. So far many tests have been conducted by a couple of countries and some of them have failed. It can take about 18 months for a vaccine to be developed.

The novel coronavirus or COVID-19 was first discovered in the Wuhan city in the Hubei province in China in December 2019. Reports say that the virus started to spread from a wet market in Wuhan and reportedly came from bats. The virus soon started to spread in other parts of the world as China failed to put restrictions on travel before people could travel in other countries. Italy, Iraq, the United States and the United Kingdom are one of the worst affected countries and are still dealing with it.

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