TRIALS of a UK vaccine to fight the coronavirus are to begin in humans in just two days.
Scientists at Oxford University are to start testing their Covid-19 jab in 18-55 year-olds in the first phase of clinical trials on Thursday after recruiting more than 500 volunteers over the past three weeks.
It means the UK is now the third country in the world to begin human trials, following America in China in a race to find a viable immunisation against the deadly virus.
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Matt Hancock, the UK Government health secretary, made the announcement this evening during the daily press conference in which he also announced that Oxford University would be given £20m towards the vaccine’s development.
Imperial College London, which is also working on a vaccine, is to be given £22.5m as it begins phase two of its pre-clinical trials.
Mr Hancock said: “In the long run, the best way to defeat coronavirus is through a vaccine.
“This is uncertain science, but I’m certain that we will throw everything we’ve got at developing a vaccine.
“The UK is at the forefront of the global effort, we have put more money than any other country into the global search for a vaccine. And for all the efforts around the world, two of the leading vaccine developments are taking place here at home - at Oxford and Imperial.”
The Health secretary said he was “throwing everything” at vaccine development and would back the scientists working on a jab “to the hilt” while confirming a further 852 people had died from the virus since Monday, bringing the UK death toll to 17, 366. In Scotland another 70 people have succumbed to Covid-19 overnight, with the country’s total number of deaths relating to the virus standing at 985.
Mr Hancock added that normally it would take “years” to develop a vaccine, but in the event that either the Oxford or Imperial College solutions work, the UK Government said it is also investing in manufacturing so “it can be available for the British people as soon as humanly possible.”
He said: “The upside of being the first country in the world to develop a successful vaccine is so huge that I am throwing everything at it. Coronavirus is a powerful enemy. But I believe that the power of human ingenuity is stronger.
“In the meantime, there’s one thing that you can do. And that is to stay at home to protect the NHS and save lives.”
The development comes following this weekend’s announcement that 21 projects including one at the University of Edinburgh would share a £14m research fund to help track the progress of the pandemic in almost real time.
The university’s Usher Institute will be working on a project using anonymised electronic health records from 1.2 million Scots as well as processing blood samples and swabs.
The Health Secretary also defended the Government's provision of protective equipment (PPE) following reports that some firms who had offered to help had been ignored by Downing Street.
He said more than 8000 firms had come forward to offer support, and 159 "potential" UK manufacturers were being worked with to provide the essential kit.
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The minster was also challenged on the claims that failure to join the EU's PPE procurement scheme was a political decision, as opposed to previous statements that the government did not receive the invitation to join on time.
A top foreign office civil servant was reported to have revealed that Westminster actively declined the invitation.
Mr Hancock said: "When it came in to the department for health...and I know there's been debate about whether it was sent to the wrong email address, but the invitation to participate in this scheme in an associate way - because we're not members of the EU - came to me for a decision, and I said yes. Having said that as far as I'm aware this scheme has not yet delivered any PPE."
He said the impact of the scheme on the UK's stock of PPE was "zero" and explained: "That's the long and short of it.
"The impact of this on our ability to deliver PPE is zero, there is no impact at all, because the scheme has not yet made anything available."
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