First volunteers receiving potential coronavirus vaccine in good health

A group of 14 people who participated in the first clinical trial for potential coronavirus vaccines have returned home after finishing 14 days of quarantine. They are stated to be healthy.

A total of 18 out of the 108 participants have completed their medical observations as of Thursday.

Researchers will monitor all the volunteers for another six months and take their blood samples to examine antibodies.

If the vaccine is provided to effect and safe, additional trials overseas will be conducted.

China earlier on March 17 launched the clinical trials for its first potential coronavirus vaccine developed by Chen Wei, the country’s top military bio-warfare expert, and her team.

A total of 108 healthy adults, aged between 18 and 60, volunteered to receive the vaccine.

They were divided into three groups which were injected with different amounts of the vaccine, according to Chinese media report.

The candidates have been isolated at the Wuhan Special Service Health Centre to monitor their condition. They will finish the medical observation on different days depending on when they were injected.

“My health has been absolutely fine during this period. I don’t feel sick or painful anywhere,” a participant told Pear Video as he was leaving the facility yesterday.

“There was a slight pain in where I was injected for the initial few days.

“I feel very confident about the vaccine,” he added. “I believe it will be introduced to the public very soon.”

Another volunteer told the press that she has returned to her daily life after “everything feels normal.”

“It felt nothing different from receiving a regular injection, like being bitten by a mosquito,” said Jin Guanping to Southern Metropolis daily.

The researchers said they would extend the vaccine tests internationally if the first trial proceeded smoothly.

“If the initial results prove the vaccine is safe and produces [desired] effects, we will continue to test its effectiveness overseas through international cooperation if the global epidemic continues to spread,” Chen Wei told the press.

The results of the clinical trial will be published in April.

The Recombinant Novel Coronavirus Vaccine was successfully developed following more than a month of research, including the study of the vaccines for Ebola.

Speaking of fighting the novel coronavirus, Chen said: “The epidemic is like a military situation. The epicentre equals to the battlefield.”

The 54-year-old expert, also a Major General of the People’s Army, has been working on the coronavirus vaccine since arriving in Wuhan on January 26, according to the press.

Chen and her team were already developing a quicker way to screen the COVID-19 coronavirus from a tent in the epicentre on January 30.